Etymograph

English

foison

Foison comes from Old French foison ‘much’, from Latin fūsiō ‘a pouring out’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-1‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundō1‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundō2‘to pour out’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūsiō3as fūsiōnem‘a pouring out’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400foison3‘much’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foisoun3‘abundance’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611foison3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin fundo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin fusio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English foison
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “Gon. […]Treaſon, fellony, / Sword, Pike, Knife, Gun, or…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰewd-Wiktionary, Latin fundo‘to pour’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰunédtiWiktionary, Latin fundoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hundōWiktionary, Latin fundo‘to pour out’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfundōWiktionary, Latin fusio‘to pour out’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfūsiōWiktionary, English foisonas fūsiōnem‘a pouring out’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400foisonWiktionary, English foison‘much’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foisounWiktionary, English foison‘abundance’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611foisonWiktionary, English foison. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “Gon. […]Treaſon, fellony, / Sword, Pike, Knife, Gun, or…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- ‘to pour’

yet, refuse, gut, fuse, font, effusive, 38 more

through Proto-Italic *hundō ‘to pour out’

confused, diffusion, foundry, infusion, perfusion, profusion, effusion, fondue, 34 more

through Latin fundō ‘to pour out’

foundation, fundamental, founder, confusion, refund, fusion, funnel, confuse, diffuse, infuse, confound, 45 more

Today it means

noun An abundance, a rich supply of.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “foison”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin fundo, Latin fusio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰewd- / foison

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