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How Do You Pronounce foliage?
Whether you’re a casual leaf peeper or a card-carrying botanist, a staunch New Englander or Caribbean beach bum, there’s plenty to love about foliage—though the pronunciation of foliage has long been a point of contention among English speakers. Most commonly accepted is the trisyllabic \FOH-lee-ij\. However, there’s no denying that the pronunciations \FOH-lij\ and even \FOY-lij\ have also staked their claim. The first of these disputed pronunciations is consistent with the pronunciation of the -iage ending in marriage and carriage. The second is often more fiercely denounced, in part because of its association with the nonstandard spelling foilage. But there’s redemption for this estranged pronunciation: foliage traces back to Middle French foille ("leaf"), which is also the source of the English word foil (as in "aluminum foil"). When adopted by Middle English speakers, foil originally meant "leaf." Love it or leaf it, there’s just no taking the "foil" out of foliage.
Examples of foliage in a Sentence
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2026
The 13,000-acre expanse feels more like Georgia or North Carolina than Florida with its high plateaus, steep ravines, waterfalls, and seasonal foliage.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2026
The 40th annual Arrowtown Autumn Festival (April 15 to 19) celebrates the town’s fiery foliage with a street parade, food and wine events and music and comedy performances.
—New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Sage’s silver-green leaves and purple flowers also provide an attractive backdrop for rosemary’s spiky foliage.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for foliage
Cite this Entry
“Foliage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foliage. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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