foetus
pronunciation
How to pronounce foetus in British English:
UK [ˈfi:təs]
How to pronounce foetus in American English:
US [ˈfitəs]
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- Noun:
- an unborn or unhatched vertebrate in the later stages of development showing the main recognizable features of the mature animal
Word Origin
- foetus
- foetus: [14] Foetus comes from Latin fētus ‘giving birth, offspring’, which also gave English fawn ‘young deer’. It was a noun use of the adjective fētus ‘pregnant, productive’, from whose derivative effētus English got effete. Probably it was related to Latin fēcundas (source of English fecund [14]) and fēlīx ‘happy’ (whence English felicity), and there could even be etymological links with fēmina ‘woman’, from which English gets feminine and female.=> effete, fecund, felicity
- foetus (n.)
- see fetus; for spelling, see oe.
Example
- 1. Did I give up smoking for the sake of my growing foetus ?
- 2. On the day of the funeral anne miscarried a male foetus .
- 3. Selective female foetus abortions because of a one-child policy and preference for boys has also created the perverse effect of fewer women working in factories .
- 4. Mr yang had said that the second child was " a gift from god " and said he had ignored officials who wanted the foetus aborted .
- 5. Soon a prenatal test may be available , to indicate whether a foetus is likely to develop autism .