founder1
n.
a person who founds an institution or settlement.
Derivative
founder2
n.
the owner or operator of a foundry.
Etymology
ME: prob. from OFr. fondeur, from fondre (see found3).
founder3
v.
- (of a ship) fill with water and sink.
▸(of a plan or undertaking) fail.
- (of a horse) stumble or fall.
- chiefly N. Amer. (of a horse, pony, etc.) succumb to laminitis.
n.
chiefly N. Amer. laminitis in horses, ponies, etc.
Usage
The words founder and flounder are often confused. Founder means, in its general and extended use, ‘fail or come to nothing’, while flounder means ‘struggle; be in a state of confusion’.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. fondrer, esfondrer ‘submerge, collapse’, based on L. fundus ‘bottom, base’.
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