Etymology From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”). The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).
There are many more foreign students in Europe since the Erasmus scheme started.
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The cane was undoubtedly of foreign make, for it had a solid silver ferrule at one end, which was not English hall–marked.1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Ayrsham Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
Foreign companies love to complain about doing business in China.[…]Amid such moans it is worth remembering that, for all the barriers that foreign multinationals face in China, it has welcomed them with open arms compared with the protectionism imposed by Japan and South Korea at comparable stages in their economic development.2013 August 24, “Guardian warriors and golden eggs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8850, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2023:
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Relating to a different nation.
foreign policy; foreign navies
Plus, the Department of Justice has argued in the past that SGEs are subject to the emoluments clause, which means they cannot take payments from foreign governments.2025 April 23, Zachary B. Wolf, “Elon Musk’s government role gets even murkier”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 Jul 2025:
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Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system.
foreign body; foreign substance; foreign gene; foreign species
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With to Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.
Formerly with from
It was completely foreign to their way of thinking.
[T]his deſign is not ſo foreign from ſome Peoples Thoughts, […]1708 December 15 (Gregorian calendar; date written), [Jonathan Swift], A Letter from a Member of the House of Commons in Ireland to a Member of the House of Commons in England, Concerning the Sacramental Test, London: […] John Morphew […], published 1709, →OCLC, page 14:
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Only when one has seen a Control Office at first-hand does one realise the vast amount of unsparing but largely unsung work that is behind the eventual publication, perhaps, of a paragraph in this journal's "Motive Power Miscellany" recording the appearance, within hours of the complete blockage of a main line, of many of its trains, passenger and freight, on routes quite foreign to them; and of effective emergency services either side of the disaster area.1962 August, G. Freeman Allen, “Traffic control on the Great Northern Line”, in Modern Railways, page 133:
Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him, / That he ran mad and died.1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
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LawCanada, US From a different legal jurisdiction (state, province), even if within the same country.
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Belonging to a different organization, company etc.
My bank charges me $2.50 every time I use a foreign ATM.
Etymology From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”). The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).
Informal A foreigner: a person from another country.
The messaging instructions come in two sets: one for domestics, another for the foreigns.2011 August 30, “White House Extremely Worried About People Saying Dumb Stuff on 9/11”, in Gawker:
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Obsolete An outsider: a person from another place or group.
In the foreign switching lanes and we riding […] A island I wanna live somewhere silent I'm shining I'm bout to flood my neck with diamonds Yeah I've been spitting facts these niggas lying I'm driving stolens, foreigns, yeah I'm riding2019 August 28, Yb Tak30ver, “Island”, 1:16: