Foot

Pronunciation

• enPR: fo͝ot, IPA: /fÊŠt/
• Rhymes: -ÊŠt

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English fōt ("foot"), from Proto-Germanic *fōts ("foot") (compare Scots fit, West Frisian foet, Dutch voet, German Fuß, Danish fod), from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds (compare Hittite pata, Latin pēs, pedis, Tocharian Tocharian A pe, paiyye, Lithuanian pāda ("sole (foot)"), Russian под (pod, "ground"), Ancient Greek πούς, ποδός (poús, podós), Albanian shputë ("palm, foot sole"), Armenian ոտն (otn), Sanskrit पद्).

Full definition of foot

Noun

1. (countable) A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg. foot
   A spider has eight feet.
2. (countable, anatomy) Specifically, a human foot, which is found below the ankle and is used for standing and walking. foot
   Southern Italy is shaped like a foot.
3. (uncountable, often used attributively) Travel by walking. foot
   We went there by foot because we could not afford a taxi.
   There is a lot of foot traffic on this street.
4. (countable) The base or bottom of anything. foot
   I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs.
5. (countable) The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest.
   We came and stood at the foot of the bed.
6. (countable) The end of a rectangular table opposite the head. foot
   The host should sit at the foot of the table.
7. (countable) A short foot-like projection on the bottom of an object to support it. foot
   The feet of the stove hold it a safe distance above the floor.
8. (countable) A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres. foot
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 20, ‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’
9. The flag pole at the local high school is about 20 feet high.
10. (military, pluralonly) Foot soldiers; infantry. foot
    King John went to battle with ten thousand foot and one thousand horse.
• ClarendonHis forces, after all the high discourses, amounted really but to eighteen hundred foot.
11. (countable, cigars) The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting.
12. (countable, sewing) The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward.
13. (countable, printing) The bottommost part of a typed or printed page. foot
14. (countable, prosody) The basic measure of rhythm in a poem. foot
15. (countable, phonology) The parsing of syllables into prosodic constituents, which are used to determine the placement of stress in languages along with the notions of constituent heads.
16. (countable, nautical) The bottom edge of a sail. foot
    To make the mainsail fuller in shape, the outhaul is eased to reduce the tension on the foot of the sail.
17. (countable, billiards) The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked.
18. (countable, botany) In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant.
• Schuster Hepaticae V|4(b) sporophyte with foot reduced, the entire sporophyte enveloped by the calyptra, which is ± stipitate at the base.
19. (countable, malacology) The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc by which it moves or holds its position on a surface.
20. (countable, molecular biology) The globular lower domain of a protein. foot
21. (countable, geometry) The foot of a line perpendicular to a given line is the point where the lines intersect.
22. Fundamental principle; basis; plan. never used in the plural
• BerkeleyAnswer directly upon the foot of dry reason.
23. Recognized condition; rank; footing. never used in the plural
• WalpoleAs to his being on the foot of a servant.

Usage notes

foot The ordinary plural of the unit of measurement is feet, but in many contexts, foot itself may be used ("he is six foot two"). This is a reflex of the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) genitive plural.

Rich Alderson, “Why do we say ‘30 years old’, but ‘a 30-year-old man’?”,

in Mark Israel, the

alt.usage.english FAQ.

It is sometimes abbreviated ', such as in tables, lists or drawings.

Derived terms

• See also feet#Derived terms

Coordinate terms

• foot inch, yard, mile
• foot head, sides
• foot head, body
• foot head, leech, luff
• foot head, cleft, neck
• foot horse

Verb

1. (transitive) To use the foot to kick (usually a ball).
2. (transitive) To pay (a bill).
3. To tread to measure or music; to dance; to trip; to skip.
4. To walk.
5. To tread.to foot the green
6. (obsolete) To set on foot; to establish; to land.
• ShakespeareWhat confederacy have you with the traitors
  Late footed in the kingdom?
7. To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.).
8. To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up.to foot (or foot up) an account

Derived terms

• foot the bill