FOLIAGE

noun see: foil Date: 1598 a representation of leaves, flowers, and branches for architectural ornamentation, the aggregate of leaves of one or more plants, a cluster of leaves, flowers, and branches, ~d adjective Usage: The disyllabic pronunciation \\ˈfō-lij\\ is very common. Some commentators insist that ~ requires a trisyllabic pronunciation because of its spelling, but words of a similar pattern such as carriage and marriage do not fall under their prescription. The pronunciation \\ˈfȯi-lij\\ is disapproved because it suggests the transposition of the l and i in the spelling. It is not as common as \\ˈfō-lij\\ and may be associated with the nonstandard spelling foilage.