Foreign

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈfɒɹɪn/

Definitions

1. Belonging to, located in, or coming from another country or nation
2. Relating to or originating from a different country or culture | Pertaining to something that is not familiar or indigenous to a specific area | Describing individuals or items that are external to one's own nation or customary environment
3. Describing something that is from another country or culture | Pertaining to items, ideas, or individuals not native to a particular place | Relating to those elements that originate outside of one's own nation or familiar context

Etymology: The word "foreign" entered English in the Middle Ages, first appearing in the 13th century. Its earliest sense was not only about something from another country, but also anything outside one's own group or community, a sense that lingers in phrases like "foreign to our experience." The term was borrowed from Old French "forain", which itself descended from Medieval Latin "foraneus," meaning "on the outside" or "from outside." Delving further back, the Latin root "foris" — meaning "outside" or "door" — underpins the entire family of related words. This root also gives rise to modern English "foray" (originally a raid into foreign territory) and "forum" (a public space, originally outside the home). Thus, the underlying image is one of crossing a threshold, stepping beyond the familiar bounds of home or hearth. Over the centuries, the word narrowed from a broad sense of "outside" to specifically denote what comes from another country, eventually settling into its current use as an adjective for things or people belonging to a different nation.

Synonyms: overseas, alien, external, exotic, non-native

Antonyms: domestic, local, native, familiar, internal