foil

Pronunciation: /fɔɪl/

The English word “foil” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

A very thin sheet of metal.
A very thin sheet of plastic.
Thin aluminium/aluminum (or, formerly, tin) used for wrapping food.
A thin layer of metal put between a jewel and its setting to make it seem more brilliant.
In literature, theatre/theater, etc., a character who helps emphasize the traits of the main character and who usually acts as an opponent or antagonist, but can also serve as the sidekick of the protagonist.
Anything that acts by contrast to emphasise the characteristics of something.
A very thin sword with a blunted (or foiled) tip.
A thin, transparent plastic material on which marks are made and projected for the purposes of presentation. See transparency.
A premium trading card with a glossy finish.
A stylized flower or leaf.
Failure when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage.
One of the incorrect answers presented in a multiple-choice test.
The track of an animal.

verb

To cover or wrap with foil.
To prevent (something) from being accomplished.
To prevent (someone) from accomplishing something.
To blunt; to dull; to spoil.
To tread underfoot; to trample.
To expand a product of two or more algebraic expressions, typically binomials.
To defile; to soil.

Etymology

From Middle English foyle, from Middle French fueille, from Old French fueille (“plant leaf”), from Late Latin folia, the plural of folium, mistaken as a singular feminine. The literary sense is from the practice of backing a gem with metal foil to make it shine more brilliantly. Doublet of folio and folium, distantly also with phyllo and phyllon.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.