ful

Old English ful meant foul, filthy, putrid — morally or physically disgusting. From the same Germanic root (Gothic fuls, Old Norse fúll) came the basic sense: something that had rotted, that stank, that violated natural order. By the 13th century, 'foul' had extended to mean wicked, unfair, against the rules. A foul act was an act that stank — metaphorically, morally wrong in the way physical rot is wrong.

In medieval ball games, a foul was an illegal action — tripping, handling, violent contact. The word appeared in cricket records by the 17th century. The Football Association's 1863 Laws defined specific fouls: tripping, hacking (kicking the shins), and intentional handball. These were called 'fouls' — foul play, play that stank. The FA's willingness to prohibit hacking, which the Rugby faction considered essential to manly sport, caused the rugby/soccer split.

The foul evolved with each sport's codification. Basketball's foul (1891, Dr. James Naismith) allowed free throws after physical fouls. American football's personal foul was distinguished from penalty. Tennis's foot fault. Baseball's foul ball (a ball hit outside fair territory) is the odd case — a foul that is not a violation, just a ball out of play. Each sport renegotiated what 'foul' meant within its specific geometry.

Foul weather, foul smell, foul play — the word stretches across physical, meteorological, and moral domains. Shakespeare used 'foul' extensively: 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark' (not foul, but related sense). 'Fair is foul and foul is fair' (Macbeth, 1.1) — the witches' chant inverts the categories, suggesting the play will disorder the distinction. The sport sense and the moral sense remain in dialogue.