FOG

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fog¹

  • /fɒɡ/ UK
  • /fɔɡ/
  • /fɑɡ/ US, cot caught merger, dialectal
  • /fɒɡ/ Canada, dialectal
  • /fɔɡ/ Australia
  • /fɒɡ/ New Zealand
  • [fɔ̟ɡ] New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɒɡ

Where it comes from

Origin uncertain; but probably of North Germanic origin. Probably either a back-formation from foggy (“covered with tall grass; thick, marshy”), from the earlier-attested fog (“tall grass”) (see below), or from or related to Danish fog (“spray, shower, drift, storm”), related to Icelandic fok (“spray, any light thing tossed by the wind, snowdrift”), Icelandic fjúka (“to blow, drive”), from Proto-Germanic *feukaną (“to whisk, blow”), from Proto-Indo-European *pug- (“billow, bulge, drift”), from *pew-, *pow- (“to blow, drift, billow”), in which case related to German fauchen (“to hiss, spit, spray”).

noun fogs

  1. uncountable A thick cloud that forms near the ground; the obscurity of such a cloud. a bank of fog
  2. uncountable A mist or film clouding a surface.
  3. countable, figuratively, uncountable A state of mind characterized by lethargy and confusion. He did so many drugs, he was still in a fog three months after going through detox.
  4. countable, uncountable A silver deposit or other blur on a negative or developed photographic image.
  5. countable, uncountable Distance fog.

verb fogs · fogging · fogged

  1. intransitive To become covered with or as if with fog.
  2. intransitive To become obscured in condensation or water. The mirror fogged every time he showered.
  3. intransitive To become dim or obscure.
  4. transitive To make dim or obscure.
  5. transitive To spoil (film) via exposure to light other than in the normal process of taking a photograph.
  6. transitive To cover with or as if with fog. Fogging for adult mosquito control began on June 4th in residential areas. Until September 25th, the Metro area was fogged eleven times, using nine truck-mounted foggers, eight hand swing foggers, and two boats.
  7. transitive To disperse insecticide into (a forest canopy) so as to collect organisms.
  8. transitive To obscure in condensation or water. Unfortunately, the pendulum has swung way too far to the other end where the saying in the industry is is^([sic]) that if you could fog a mirror, you could get a loan.
  9. transitive To make confusing or obscure.

fog²

  • /fɒɡ/ UK
  • /fɔɡ/
  • /fɑɡ/ US, cot caught merger, dialectal
  • /fɒɡ/ Canada, dialectal
  • /fɔɡ/ Australia
  • /fɒɡ/ New Zealand
  • [fɔ̟ɡ] New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɒɡ

Where it comes from

From Middle English fogge (“tall grass”), probably from Norwegian fogg (“tall, worthless grass”); compare Scots fog (“moss; lichen”).

noun

  1. uncountable A new growth of grass appearing on a field that has been mowed or grazed. The inclosures of fog, or aftergrass, reserved for spring-feed, are now supposed to be shut up, also the burnet, which is never to be fed in autumn ...
  2. UK, dialectal, uncountable Tall and decaying grass left standing after the cutting or grazing season. […] and they generally leave a great deal of Fog to rot on the Ground, which, with the Help of his well turned Dung-hill, dress his Ground […]
  3. Scotland, uncountable Moss.

verb fogs · fogging · fogged

  1. transitive To pasture cattle on the fog (of), or aftergrass, of; to eat off the fog from (a field).
  2. intransitive To become covered with the kind of grass called fog.

fog³

  • /fɒɡ/ UK
  • /fɔɡ/
  • /fɑɡ/ US, cot caught merger, dialectal
  • /fɒɡ/ Canada, dialectal
  • /fɔɡ/ Australia
  • /fɒɡ/ New Zealand
  • [fɔ̟ɡ] New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɒɡ

Where it comes from

Compare Old Dutch focker.

verb fogs · fogging · fogged

  1. intransitive, obsolete To practice in a small or mean way; to pettifog. Where wouldst thou fog to get a fee?

FOG⁴

noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism, uncountable Initialism of fat, oil, and grease.fat
  2. abbreviation, initialism, uncountable Initialism of frequency of gobbledygook: the commonness of long and complicated words in a text, as measured by systems like the Gunning fog index.frequency of gobbledygook

adjective

  1. abbreviation, initialism, not comparable Initialism of fraudulently-obtained genuine, a type of illicit passport.fraudulently-obtained genuine

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