founder

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 your marriage or your career is foundering it isn't doing well and is therefore headed downward.