Word of the Day

: March 6, 2007

foist

verb FOIST

What It Means

1 a : to introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant

b : to force another to accept especially by stealth or deceit

2 : to pass off as genuine or worthy

foist in Context

Rather than do the task he was assigned, Jim tried to foist it on one of the newer employees.

Did You Know?

An early sense of the word "foist," now obsolete, referred to palming a phony die and secretly introducing it into a game at an opportune time. The action involved in this cheating tactic reflects the etymology of "foist." The word is believed to derive from the obsolete Dutch verb "vuisten," meaning "to take into one's hand." "Vuisten" in turn comes from "vuyst," the Middle Dutch word for "fist" which itself is distantly related to the Old English ancestor of "fist." By the late 16th century "foist" was being used in English to mean "to insert surreptitiously," and it quickly acquired the meaning "to force another to accept by stealth or deceit."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.