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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
Katie Riley, Travel + Leisure, 15 Nov. 2025
Rubber plants stand out with attractive colored foliage splashed in shades of rose, cream and green or captivating hues of burgundy, aubergine or midnight.
—Chris McKeown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Nov. 2025
This lush jungle environment is pretty different from anything seen in other Metroid games, which may have had biomes with vegetation and foliage, but never to this degree.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2025
Scientists have long questioned whether the vibrant colors of fall foliage serve an evolutionary purpose.
—Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for foliage
Cite this Entry
“Foliage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foliage. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
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