foi

Verb

foi

1. third-person singular preterite indicative of ser

Etymology

Early Old French fei, later foi, inherited from Latin fides.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fwa/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Homophones: foie, foies, fois
• Hyphenation: foi

Noun

foi f (plural fois)

1. faith
2. (heraldry) a depiction of a handshake

Further reading

• “foi” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Etymology 1

Inflected form of ir (“to go”).

Etymology 2

Inflected form of ser (“to be”).

Alternative forms

Etymology

Latin fidem, accusative singular of fidēs. Compare the 11th century spelling feid where the link to fidem is clearer.

Noun

foi f (oblique plural fois, nominative singular foi, nominative plural fois)

1. faith
2. allegiance; faithfulness
   • circa 1150, Thomas d'Angleterre, Le Roman de Tristan, page 156 (of the Champion Classiques edition, →ISBN, line 1837:

     sa fei lealment li afie'he loyally pledges his allegiance to him

Alternative forms

• foy (obsolete)
• foe (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (Brazil, Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfoj/
• Hyphenation: foi
• Rhymes: -oj

Verb

foi

1. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) preterite indicative of ir
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) preterite indicative of ser
   • 1999, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e o Prisioneiro de Azkaban, Rocco, page 57:

     O jantar aquela noite foi muito agradável.

     The dinner that night was very pleasant.

Interjection

foi

1. indicates that an action has been undertaken; done

   — Pode enviar a mensagem? — Foi.

   “Can you send the message?”, “Done.”

Etymology 1

Etymology 2

Either from foaie or from a Vulgar Latin root *follīre, from Late Latin follēre, present active infinitive of folleō, from Latin follis.