[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

founder \found"er\, n. far.
   a a lameness in the foot of a horse, occasioned by
       inflammation; closh.
   b an inflammatory fever of the body, or acute rheumatism;
       as, chest founder. see chest ffounder. --james white.
       1913 webster
see also:
chest ffounder 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

founder \found"er\, n. cf. of. fondeor, f. fondateur, l.
   fundator.
   one who founds, establishes, and erects; one who lays a
   foundation; an author; one from whom anything originates; one
   who endows.
   1913 webster

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

founder \found"er\, n. from found to cast.
   one who founds; one who casts metals in various forms; a
   caster; as, a founder of cannon, bells, hardware, or types.
   1913 webster

   fonder's dust. same as facing, 4.

   founder's sand, a kind of sand suitable for purposes of
      molding.
      1913 webster
see also:
found fonder's dust facing founder's sand 

[4] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

founder \found"er\, v. i. imp.  p. p. foundered; p. pr. 
   vb. n. foundering. of. fondrer to fall in, cf. f.
   s'effondrer, fr. fond bottom, l. fundus. see found to
   establish.
   1. naut. to become filled with water, and sink, as a ship.
      1913 webster

   2. to fall; to stumble and go lame, as a horse.
      1913 webster

            for which his horse fear'e gan to turn,
            and leep aside, and foundrede as he leep. --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   3. to fail; to miscarry. "all his tricks founder." --shak.
      1913 webster
see also:
foundered foundering found 

[5] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

founder \found"er\, v. t.
   to cause internal inflammation and soreness in the feet or
   limbs of a horse, so as to disable or lame him.
   1913 webster

[6] : WordNet (r) 2.0

founder
     n 1: inflammation of the laminated tissue that attaches the hoof
          to the foot of a horse syn: laminitis
     2: a person who founds or establishes some institution; "george
        washington is the father of his country" syn: beginner,
         founding father, father
     3: a worker who makes metal castings
     v 1: fail utterly; collapse; "the project foundered" syn: fall
          through, fall flat, flop
     2: sink below the surface
     3: break down, literally or metaphorically; "the wall
        collapsed"; "the business collapsed"; "the dam broke";
        "the roof collapsed"; "the wall gave in"; "the roof
        finally gave under the weight of the ice" syn: collapse,
         fall in, cave in, give, give way, break
     4: stumble and nearly fall; "the horses foundered"
see also:
laminitis beginner founding father father fall through fall flat 
flop collapse fall in cave in give 
give way break 

[7] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

132 moby thesaurus words for "founder":
   abort, ancestors, apprentice, architect, artificer, artist, author,
   be clobbered, be destroyed, be felled, be lost, be poleaxed,
   be staggered, be stricken, begetter, beginner, break down, builder,
   capsize, cave, cave in, collapse, come to grief, come to naught,
   come to nothing, conceiver, constructor, craftsman, creator,
   decline, designer, deviser, die, discoverer, droop, drown,
   effector, engenderer, engineer, establisher, executor, executrix,
   fail, fall, fall in, fall through, falter, father, flop, flop down,
   flump, flump down, framer, generator, give way, go down,
   go downhill, go lame, go under, grower, have a mishap, inaugurator,
   industrialist, initiator, instigator, institutor, introducer,
   inventor, journeyman, keel, keel over, lapse, lower, lurch, maker,
   manufacturer, master, master craftsman, miscarry, mother,
   organizer, originator, overset, overturn, past master, patriarch,
   pitchpole, planner, plop, plop down, plump, precursor, prime mover,
   producer, progenitor, raiser, realizer, run aground, sag, scuttle,
   set, settle, settle down, shaper, sink, sink down, sink like lead,
   sire, slip, slouch, slump, slump down, smith, somersault, stagger,
   stumble, submerge, submerse, subside, suffer a misfortune, swag,
   sway, topple, topple down, topple over, totter, trip, turn over,
   turn turtle, upset, upset the boat, wright

Founder >> F Words
Founder, definition of term: Founder
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