A person who loiters or idles about; a vagrant or loafer.
Possibly from 'foy' (an archaic word for farewell or a farewell feast) or from Flemish/Dutch origins. The etymology is uncertain, but it appears in historical texts meaning an idle person.
The word 'foiter' is so obscure that even lexicographers debate its origins, but it captures a specific social type—the person hanging around with no purpose, common in crowded medieval cities.
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