# foreign

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈfɒɹɪn/ · frequency rank #875

## Definitions
1. Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
2. Originating from, characteristic of, belonging to, or being a citizen of a country or place other than the one under discussion.
3. Relating to a different nation.
4. Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system.
5. Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.
6. Held at a distance; excluded; exiled.
7. From a different legal jurisdiction (state, province), even if within the same country.
8. Belonging to a different organization, company etc.
9. Outside, outdoors, outdoor.

## 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).

## Easily confused with
- **foreman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/foreign-vs-foreman)
- **foreigner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/foreign-vs-foreigner)
- **feign** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/feign-vs-foreign)
- **forego** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forego-vs-foreign)

## Common misspellings (10)
`fforeign`, `foerign`, `foregin`, `foreiggn`, `foreignn`, `foreing`, `foriegn`, `forreign`, `froeign`, `ofreign`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/foreign