Fouls

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /faʊlz/

Definitions

1. Breaks a game rule by illegal contact or behavior ; makes something dirty, impure, or unpleasant, especially by adding waste or sewage
2. Violates the rules of a sport through unfair or dangerous conduct ; contaminates or soils a surface or object, often by adding dirt or harmful substances
3. Performs an illegal act in sports that disrupts fair play ; dirties or pollutes a place or item, causing it to become unclean or offensive

Etymology: The verb "foul" in its sports sense comes from the same root as the everyday adjective, and the link is more physical than it looks. The Old English "fūl" meant dirty, rotten, or stinking, and the related verb "fūlian" meant to rot or decay. Both descend from a prehistoric root meaning rotten, which also gave German "faul" (lazy, as well as putrid) and Latin "puter" (decaying). The sporting and moral senses grew out of that original sense of corruption. A foul was something that made a thing impure or unfit, so a foul blow or foul play came to mean an act that spoiled a contest's fairness. "Fouls" is simply the plural of the noun, used for each individual infraction, while the verb's forms describe the act of committing or causing one.

Synonyms: infractions, violations, misconducts, transgressions, offenses

Antonyms: fair plays, compliances, adherences, conformities