fetus

especially British, foe·tus

[fee-tuhs]

noun

Embryology.

plural

fetuses 

1. (used chiefly of viviparous mammals) the young of an animal in the womb or egg, especially in the later stages of development when the body structures are in the recognizable form of its kind, in humans after the end of the second month of gestation.

fetus

/ ˈfiːtəs /

noun

1. the embryo of a mammal in the later stages of development, when it shows all the main recognizable features of the mature animal, esp a human embryo from the end of the second month of pregnancy until birth Compare embryo

fetus

1. The unborn offspring of a mammal at the later stages of its development, especially a human from eight weeks after fertilization to its birth. In a fetus, all major body organs are present.

fetus

1. The embryo of an animal that bears its young alive (rather than laying eggs). In humans, the embryo is called a fetus after all major body structures have formed; this stage is reached about sixty days after fertilization.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fetus¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin fētus “bringing forth of young,” hence “that which is born, offspring, young still in the womb,” equivalent to fē- (verb base attested in Latin only in noun derivatives, as fēmina “woman,” fēcundus “fertile,” fīlius “son,” fīlia “daughter,” etc.; compare Greek thēsthai “to suck, milk,” Old High German tāan “to suck,” Old Irish denid “(he) sucks,” Slavic (Polish) doić “to milk” + -tus suffix of verb action; fecund

Word History and Origins

Origin of fetus¹

C14: from Latin: offspring, brood

Example Sentences

Shealy told Salon that people have slashed her tires, shot out the windows of her home and thrown images of dismembered fetuses at her over her votes against strict abortion bans.

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In the interim, it lurks underground in stasis, almost like a fetus in the womb.

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Conversely, maternal cells circulating in the pregnant mother’s bloodstream commonly slip through into the fetus and get incorporated into its body.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Anti-inflammatory medicines like aspirin can endanger the fetus.

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FDA chief Marty Makary explained that acetaminophen is the only approved over-the-counter drug to treat high fevers in pregnancy that can damage a fetus, and that “the choice still belongs with parents.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal