Skip to content
word of the day

The word for today is…

foist (verb) –
1a : 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

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : 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.”

If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest