fog

Meanings

Noun

• A mist or film clouding a surface.
• A state of mind characterized by lethargy and confusion.
• A silver deposit or other blur on a negative or developed photographic image.
• Distance fog.
• A new growth of grass appearing on a field that has been mowed or grazed.
• Tall and decaying grass left standing after the cutting or grazing season.
• Moss.

Verb

• To become covered with or as if with fog.
• To become obscured in condensation or water.
• To become dim or obscure.
• To make dim or obscure.
• To spoil (film) via exposure to light other than in the normal process of taking a photograph.
• To cover with or as if with fog.
• To disperse insecticide into (a forest canopy) so as to collect organisms.
• To obscure in condensation or water.
• To make confusing or obscure.
• To practice in a small or mean way; to pettifog.
• To pasture cattle on the fog (of), or aftergrass, of; to eat off the fog from (a field).
• To become covered with the kind of grass called fog.

Related

Broader meaning words

• fret, sea fret
• garua
• haar
• ice fog
• pea soup, soup
• pogonip
• rawk
• sea smoke
• tule fog

Origin

• Origin uncertain; but probably of North Germanic origin. Probably either a back-formation from foggy, from the earlier-attested fog (see below), or from or related to Danish fog, related to Icelandic fok, Icelandic fjúka, from Proto-Germanic *feukaną, from Proto-Indo-European *pug-, from *pew-, *pow-, in which case related to German fauchen.
• From Middle English fogge ("tall grass"), probably from Norwegian fogg ("tall, worthless grass"); compare Scots fog.