foetus

See also: Fötus and fœtus

English

Noun

foetus (plural foetuses or foetus or (hypercorrect) foeti)

(chiefly UK) Alternative spelling of fetus
- 1815, Nathaniel Highmore, Case of a Foetus Found in the Abdomen of a Young Man:
  Amongst professional men, who have examined this singular foetus, a variety of opinions and conjectures have been formed, some of which it maybe well to notice.
- 1990, James M. Tanner, Foetus Into Man: Physical Growth from Conception to Maturity, →ISBN, page 40:
  During the last 10 weeks in utero the foetus stores very considerable amounts of energy in the form of fat.
- 2006, Denise Walker, Reproduction, Breathing and Health, →ISBN, page 23:
  The foetus gains all its food and oxygen from the mother during pregnancy.

Usage notes

The form fetus is the primary spelling in the United States, Canada, and in the scientific community, whereas foetus is still commonly used in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. Sometimes considered less correct than fetus and suggested to be abandoned.[1][2]

Derived terms

foetal

References

Bernard Towers (1967), “Fetus vs. Foetus”, in Archives of Disease in Childhood, page 224, columns 1–2:
Cambridge students who have attended my Embryology classes during the past decade will know (if they remember) that our American colleagues are correct (though perhaps unwittingly so) in their spelling of the word fetus. One recognizes that language is like a living organism, and undergoes evolutionary change. […] But there is nothing, except the always interesting ‘history of errors’,to recommend the traditional English and French foetus. […] Fetus was the only spelling in use up to the year 600 a.d. No originality is claimed for the observation that the new spelling was introduced by Isidorus (c. 560-636 a.d.) […] His learning, though considerable, was not really adequate to his purpose, and much that he wrote in, for instance, his twenty-volumed ‘Etymologies’ was erroneous, partly because, as has been noted, his Latin was ‘not pure’. […] Isidorus appears to have been misled by the Greek φοιτός, itself a later corruption of φυτός, a word meaning ‘fertile’. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary (3rd edition 1947) gives only the spelling foetus, and says that ‘the better form with e is almost unknown in use’. […] But Partridge states the true facts quite bluntly, in a way that should give pause to authors and editors alike. It would be a gesture towards Anglo-American entente if Western Europe were to abandon an error that has persisted for over 1300 years.
Philip Rhodes (1969) Reproductive Physiology for Medical Students:
A letter to the British Medical Journal of February 18th, 1967, by Professors J. D. Boyd and W. J. Hamilton first drew my attention to the fact that although “foetus” had been used for more than a millennium, the more proper spelling would be “fetus”, derived from the Latin “feo” = I bear. Most of us had considered that “fetus” was an American corruption of our more sanctified spelling. This may well have been so, but in fact the shorter spelling would seem to be etymologically correct. […] I have considered it to be time to revert to the better form.

Anagrams

fouets

Dutch

Etymology

From Latin fētus.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈføːtʏs/
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: foe‧tus

Noun

foetus n or m (plural foetussen, diminutive foetusje n)

fetus

Derived terms

feut

Latin

Etymology

Introduced after 600 C.E. by Isidorus (c. 560–636 C.E.), who wrote “Etymologies”, much of which was erroneous, partly because his Latin was, as described, “not pure”, and appears to have been misled by the Ancient Greek φοιτός (phoitós), itself a later corruption of φυτός (phutós, “fertile”).[1]

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfoe̯.tus/, [ˈfoe̯t̪ʊs̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfe.tus/, [ˈfɛːt̪us]

Adjective

foetus (feminine foeta, neuter foetum); first/second-declension adjective

Alternative form of fētus

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Number	Singular			Plural
Nominative	foetus	foeta	foetum	foetī	foetae	foeta
Genitive	foetī	foetae	foetī	foetōrum	foetārum	foetōrum
Dative	foetō	foetae	foetō	foetīs
Accusative	foetum	foetam	foetum	foetōs	foetās	foeta
Ablative	foetō	foetā	foetō	foetīs
Vocative	foete	foeta	foetum	foetī	foetae	foeta

Noun

foetus m (genitive foetūs); fourth declension

Alternative form of fētus

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	foetus	foetūs
Genitive	foetūs	foetuum
Dative	foetuī	foetibus
Accusative	foetum	foetūs
Ablative	foetū	foetibus
Vocative	foetus	foetūs

References

“foetus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
foetus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

Bernard Towers (1967), “Fetus vs. Foetus”, in Archives of Disease in Childhood, page 224, columns 1–2:
Fetus was the only spelling in use up to the year 600 a.d. No originality is claimed for the observation that the new spelling was introduced by Isidorus (c. 560-636 a.d.) […] His learning, though considerable, was not really adequate to his purpose, and much that he wrote in, for instance, his twenty-volumed ‘Etymologies’ was erroneous, partly because, as has been noted, his Latin was ‘not pure’. […] Isidorus appears to have been misled by the Greek φοιτός, itself a later corruption of φυτός, a word meaning ‘fertile’.

[1] Bernard Towers (1967), “Fetus vs. Foetus”, in Archives of Disease in Childhood, page 224, columns 1–2:
Cambridge students who have attended my Embryology classes during the past decade will know (if they remember) that our American colleagues are correct (though perhaps unwittingly so) in their spelling of the word fetus. One recognizes that language is like a living organism, and undergoes evolutionary change. […] But there is nothing, except the always interesting ‘history of errors’,to recommend the traditional English and French foetus. […] Fetus was the only spelling in use up to the year 600 a.d. No originality is claimed for the observation that the new spelling was introduced by Isidorus (c. 560-636 a.d.) […] His learning, though considerable, was not really adequate to his purpose, and much that he wrote in, for instance, his twenty-volumed ‘Etymologies’ was erroneous, partly because, as has been noted, his Latin was ‘not pure’. […] Isidorus appears to have been misled by the Greek φοιτός, itself a later corruption of φυτός, a word meaning ‘fertile’. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary (3rd edition 1947) gives only the spelling foetus, and says that ‘the better form with e is almost unknown in use’. […] But Partridge states the true facts quite bluntly, in a way that should give pause to authors and editors alike. It would be a gesture towards Anglo-American entente if Western Europe were to abandon an error that has persisted for over 1300 years.

[2] Philip Rhodes (1969) Reproductive Physiology for Medical Students:
A letter to the British Medical Journal of February 18th, 1967, by Professors J. D. Boyd and W. J. Hamilton first drew my attention to the fact that although “foetus” had been used for more than a millennium, the more proper spelling would be “fetus”, derived from the Latin “feo” = I bear. Most of us had considered that “fetus” was an American corruption of our more sanctified spelling. This may well have been so, but in fact the shorter spelling would seem to be etymologically correct. […] I have considered it to be time to revert to the better form.

[3] Bernard Towers (1967), “Fetus vs. Foetus”, in Archives of Disease in Childhood, page 224, columns 1–2:
Fetus was the only spelling in use up to the year 600 a.d. No originality is claimed for the observation that the new spelling was introduced by Isidorus (c. 560-636 a.d.) […] His learning, though considerable, was not really adequate to his purpose, and much that he wrote in, for instance, his twenty-volumed ‘Etymologies’ was erroneous, partly because, as has been noted, his Latin was ‘not pure’. […] Isidorus appears to have been misled by the Greek φοιτός, itself a later corruption of φυτός, a word meaning ‘fertile’.