fetus

Alternative forms

• (UK) foetus
• (UK, rare) fœtus
• (obsolete, erroneous) phoetus, phœtus
• (obsolete, erroneous) faetus, fætus

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fētus (“offspring”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfiːtəs/
• Rhymes: -iːtəs

Noun

fetus (plural fetuses or feti)

1. (Canada, US) An unborn or unhatched vertebrate showing signs of the mature animal.
   • 1963, John W Choate, ‎Henry A. Thiede, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Transcript, Volume 2

     Several feti were removed from every rats' uterus, stripped of their membranes and allowed to lie in the peritoneal cavity connected to the placenta by the umbilical cord and with the placenta still attached to the uterine wall.

2. (Canada, US) A human embryo after the eighth week of gestation.

   The sequence is: molecules in reproductive systems, then gametes, zygotes, morulas, blastocysts, and then fetuses.

See also

• embryo

References

• Health Online

Anagrams

• EF-Tus, UTFSE, fuets

Alternative forms

• foetus

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-, see also Sanskrit धयति (dhayati), Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬥𐬎‎ (daēnu), Old Armenian դիեմ (diem), Lithuanian žįsti and Old Church Slavonic доити (doiti).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfeː.tus/, [ˈfeː.tʊs]

Adjective

fētus (feminine fēta, neuter fētum); first/second declension

1. pregnant, full of young
2. fruitful, productive
3. youthful, young
4. of one who has recently given birth; nursing

Noun

fētus m (genitive fētūs); fourth declension

1. A bearing, birth, bringing forth.
2. Offspring, young, progeny.
3. Fruit, produce.
4. (figuratively) Growth, production.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fěːtus/
• Hyphenation: fe‧tus

Noun

fétus m (Cyrillic spelling фе́тус)

1. fetus