FONDERIE, Fr. forge, ou Fourneaux. See [Foundery].

FONDS destinés pour le payement des troupes. Fr. Monies issued for the service of the army.

FONTE des pieces d’artillerie. The metal used in the casting of cannon which consists of three sorts well mixed together, viz. copper, tin, and brass.

FOOT, in a military sense, signifies all those bodies of men that serve on foot. See [Infantry].

Foot is also a long measure, consisting of 12 inches. Geometricians divide the foot into 10 digits, and the digits into 10 lines; but we after the manner of the English divide the foot into 12 inches, and an inch into 12 lines, and a line into 12 points. The French call the 12th part of a foot, a line.

A square Foot, is the same measure, both in length and breadth, containing 12 × 12 = 144 square or superficial inches.

A cubic Foot, is the same measure in all the three dimensions, length, breadth, and thickness; containing 12 × 12 = 144 × 12 = 1728 cubic inches. The foot is of different length in different countries. The Paris royal foot exceeds the English by 9 lines; the ancient Roman foot of the capitol consisted of 4 palms = 11⁴⁄₁₀ English inches; and the Rhineland or Leyden foot, by which the northern nations go, is to the Roman foot as 950 to 1000. The proportions of the principal feet of several nations are as follow. The English foot divided into 1000 parts, or into 12 inches, the other feet will be as follow:

Places.1000
parts
feet.inch.lines.
London foot100012
Amsterdam 942113
Antwerp 946112
Bologna12041 24
Berlin101012
Bremen 964116
Cologne 954114
Copenhagen 965116
Dantzic 944113
Dort11841 22
Frankfort on the Main 948114
The Greek100711
Mantua15691 68
Mechlin 99911
Middlebourg 991119
Paris Royal106819
Prague102613
Rhineland103314
Riga18311 99
Roman 967116
Old Roman 970118
Scotch10051⁵⁄₇
Strasbourg 92011
Madrid 899107
Lisbon106016
Turin106217
Venice11621 19

To be on the SAME FOOTING with another, is to be under the same circumstances in point of service; to have the same number of men, and the same pay, &c.

To gain or lose ground FOOT by FOOT, is to do it regularly and resolutely; defending every thing to the utmost extremity, or forcing it by dint of art or labor.