noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English foulnesse, from Old English fūlnes, from fūl foul + -nes -ness
1. : the quality or state of being foul: as
a. obsolete : physical repulsiveness
the fury … with new methods tried the foulness of the infernal form to hide — John Dryden
b. : a deposit of foul matter : filth
the floors were made of serpents encased in foulness — R.B.Anderson
c. : moral impurity, obscenity, or vulgarity
the cheapness of his person and the foulness of his tongue — Hamilton Basso
d. : uncleanness , pollution
a medicine … useful in … foulnesses of the blood — George Berkeley
e. : an unfavorable state (as of weather)
2. : firedamp