foison

A knight practices with a foison in the training yard.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Abundance; plenty: "foison" refers to a plentiful supply or a great quantity of something, often used in older or poetic contexts.
   • Harvest or crop yield: In agricultural contexts, "foison" can mean a rich harvest or the produce of the land.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The land yielded a foison of wheat this year. (The land produced an abundant harvest of wheat.)
  • The marketplace was filled with a foison of goods from distant lands. (The marketplace had a plentiful supply of goods.)
  • In times of foison, the people celebrated with great feasts. (During times of abundance, the people celebrated.)

Advanced Usage

• "a foison of": used to describe a large amount or abundance of something.

  • There was a foison of fish in the river that season. (There was a great abundance of fish.)

• "foison and famine": a contrasting phrase used in older literature to describe cycles of plenty and scarcity.

  • The farmer knew both foison and famine over the years. (The farmer experienced both abundant harvests and times of shortage.)

Variants and Related Words

• Foisonless (adj): lacking abundance; scarce or barren.
  • The drought made the fields foisonless. (The drought made the fields barren and unproductive.)

Synonyms

• Abundance: a very large quantity of something.
• Plenty: a plentiful supply of something.
• Copiousness: the quality of being abundant or plentiful.

Related Idioms

• "A foison of fortune": an archaic expression meaning great wealth or good luck.
  • He inherited a foison of fortune from his uncle. (He inherited great wealth.)

Etymology Note

• "Foison" comes from Old French , meaning abundance or plenty, and is related to Latin (a pouring out). It is now considered archaic or poetic in modern English.