founder3

 
Pronunciation: /ˈfaʊndə/

verb

  • 1 [no object, with adverbial] (of a ship) fill with water and sink: six drowned when the yacht foundered off the Cornish coast
  • (of a plan or undertaking) fail or break down as a result of a particular problem: the talks foundered on the issue of reform
  • 2 [no object] (of a horse or its rider) stumble or fall from exhaustion, lameness, etc.: some of their horses foundered and damaged themselves in the stones of the riverbed
  • chiefly North American (of a hoofed animal, especially a horse or pony) succumb to laminitis.

noun

[mass noun] chiefly North American
  • laminitis in horses, ponies, or other hoofed animals.

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'knock to the ground'): from Old French fondrer, esfondrer 'submerge, collapse', based on Latin fundus 'bottom, base'

It is easy to confuse the words founder and flounder, not only because they sound similar but also because the contexts in which they are used tend to overlap. Founder means, in its general and extended use, ‘fail or come to nothing’, as in the scheme foundered because of lack of organizational backing. Flounder, on the other hand, means ‘struggle; be in a state of confusion’, as in new recruits floundering about in their first week.