Foil

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /fɔɪl/

Definitions

1. A thin sheet of metal or a person who contrasts with another to highlight their qualities
2. A sleek metallic layer or a contrasting character is used to enhance attributes of another, while also denoting a strategy to impede or obstruct someone's objectives or actions
3. A thin layer of metal used for cooking or packaging, as well as a literary device for contrasting characters, or a method to thwart someone's plans or efforts

Etymology: Foil the metal sheet comes from a leaf. Its ancestor is Latin "folium," meaning leaf, and in Late Latin the plural "folia" was mistaken for a singular feminine noun. That form passed into Old French as "fueille," meaning a plant leaf, and then into Middle English as "foyle." The thin beaten metal sense developed because goldsmiths and jewellers backed gemstones with a sheet of metal to make them shine more brilliantly, and the leaf-thin layer became the name for the material itself. The verb meaning to thwart or frustrate has an entirely different ancestry. It comes from Middle English "foilen," meaning to spoil a scent trail by crossing it, a hunting term. That came from Old French "fouler," to tread upon or trample, ultimately from Latin "fullo," a fuller who trampled cloth. A hound's trail trampled or crossed was ruined, so to foil came to mean to defeat or baffle. The two senses look identical today but share no root with the metal sheet.

Synonyms: metal sheet, wrapper, screen, deflect, counter

Antonyms: support, assist