in a general sense, the person who lays a foundation, or endows a church, school, religious house, or other charitable institution.

Founder also implies an artist who casts metals, in various forms, for different uses, as guns, bells, statues, printing characters, candelsticks, buckles, &c., whence they are denominated gun-founders, bell-founders, figure-founders, letter-founders, founders of small works, &c. See Foundry.

the sea language: A ship is said to founder, when by an extraordinary leak, or by a great sea breaking in upon her, she is so filled with water, that she cannot be freed of it; so that she can neither veer nor steer, but lie like a log; and not being able to swim long, will at last sink.