What does "founder" mean?
Founder: (Naut.) To become filled with water, and sink, as a ship.
Additional senses
- 2.To fall; to stumble and go lame, as a horse. For which his horse fearé gan to turn, And leep aside, and foundrede as he leep. Chaucer.
- 3.To fail; to miscarry. "All his tricks founder." Shak.
- 4.To cause internal inflammation and soreness in the feet or limbs of (a horse), so as to disable or lame him.
- 5.(a) A lameness in the foot of a horse, occasioned by inflammation; closh. (b) An inflammatory fever of the body, or acute rheumatism; as, chest founder. See Chest ffounder. James White.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00