founder1

[foun-der] /ˈfaʊn dər/
noun
1.
a person who founds or establishes.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English; see found2, -er1

founder2

[foun-der] /ˈfaʊn dər/
verb (used without object)
1.
(of a ship, boat, etc.) to fill with water and sink.
2.
to fall or sink down, as buildings, ground, etc.:
Built on a former lake bed, the building has foundered nearly ten feet.
3.
to become wrecked; fail utterly:
The project foundered because public support was lacking.
4.
to stumble, break down, or go lame, as a horse:
His mount foundered on the rocky path.
5.
to become ill from overeating.
6.
Veterinary Pathology. (of a horse) to suffer from laminitis.
verb (used with object)
7.
to cause to fill with water and sink:
Rough seas had foundered the ship in mid-ocean.
8.
Veterinary Pathology. to cause (a horse) to break down, go lame, or suffer from laminitis.
noun
9.
Veterinary Pathology, laminitis.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English foundren < Middle French fondrer to plunge to the bottom, submerge < Vulgar Latin *fundorāre, derivative of *fundor-, taken as stem of Latin fundus bottom
Related forms
unfoundered, adjective
unfoundering, adjective
Synonyms
3. collapse, perish, succumb, topple, sink; flop.

founder3

[foun-der] /ˈfaʊn dər/
noun
1.
a person who founds or casts metal, glass, etc.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English; see found3, -er1
Examples from the web for founder
  • After all, without customers businesses founder and ultimately fail.
  • The founder of a large and growing family of sports.
  • Its founder and longtime president did not believe in an endowment, which he thought might make campus leaders too comfortable.
  • The rule of this holy founder consists of seventy-five chapters.
  • The holy founder, notwithstanding his reluctancy, was often employed in public affairs.
  • And therefore it may seem that the first founder of the city minded nothing so much as he did these gardens.
  • Some genes that contribute to diseases can be traced back to what's known as a founder mutation.
  • These founder bugs go on to create larger populations.
  • Sometimes a similar fate appears to threaten its founder.
  • Most of management theory is inane, writes our correspondent, the founder of a consulting firm.
British Dictionary definitions for founder

founder1

/ˈfaʊndə/
noun
1.
a person who establishes an institution, company, society, etc
Word Origin
C14: see found²

founder2

/ˈfaʊndə/
verb (intransitive)
1.
(of a ship) to sink
2.
to break down or fail: the project foundered
3.
to sink into or become stuck in soft ground
4.
to fall in or give way; collapse
5.
(of a horse) to stumble or go lame
6.
(archaic) (of animals, esp livestock) to become ill from overeating
noun
7.
(vet science) another name for laminitis
Usage note
Founder is sometimes wrongly used where flounder is meant: this unexpected turn of events left him floundering (not foundering)
Word Origin
C13: from Old French fondrer to submerge, from Latin fundus bottom; see found²

founder3

/ˈfaʊndə/
noun
1.
  1. a person who makes metal castings
  2. (in combination): an iron founder
Word Origin
C15: see found³
Word Origin and History for founder
v.

early 14c., from Old French fondrer "collapse; submerge, sink, fall to the bottom," from fond "bottom," from Latin fundus "bottom, foundation" (see fund (n.)). Related: Foundered; foundering.

n.

"one who establishes, one who sets up or institutes something," mid-14c., from Anglo-French fundur, Old French fondeor, from Latin fundator, agent noun from fundare (see found (v.1)).

"one who casts metal," c.1400, agent noun from found (v.2).

founder in Medicine

founder foun·der (foun'dər)
v. foun·dered, foun·der·ing, foun·ders

  1. To stumble, especially to stumble and go lame. Used of horses.

  2. To become ill from overeating. Used of livestock.

  3. To be afflicted with laminitis. Used of horses.

n.
See laminitis.