Founder comes from Middle English
foundren, meaning "to send to the bottom" or "collapse." That word came from the Middle French verb
fondrer, and ultimately from the Latin noun
fundus,
meaning "bottom." When something founders, it usually hits the bottom
in one sense or another. A foundering
horse—that is, a disabled one—is
likely to collapse to the ground. When a ship founders, it sinks to the
bottom of the sea.
Founder has a broader, figurative sense,
too—if someone's marriage or career is foundering, it isn't doing well
and is therefore headed downward.
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