foetid

[fet-id, fee-tid]

adjective

fetid.

fetid

or foet·id

[fet-id, fee-tid]

adjective

having an offensive odor; stinking.

Origin of fetid

1590–1600; < Latin fētidus, equivalent to fēt- (stem of fētēre to stink) + -idus -id⁴

Related formsfet·id·ly, adverbfet·id·ness, fe·tid·i·ty, noun

Synonyms for fetid

malodorous, smelly, noisome.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foetid

Historical Examples of foetid

It is like coming out of a foetid cave into the evening sunshine.
Deerbrook
Harriet Martineau
Smell not so foetid as in type; s. yellowish and mottled inside.
European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae
George Massee
Their clothes and their letters reek with the foetid secretion of the musk deer.
I Say No
Wilkie Collins
If we fail, then death is preferable to life in this foetid pit, chained up and treated like dogs.
Sea-Dogs All!
Tom Bevan
Orifice of coxal gland situated just behind that of the foetid gland.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for foetid

foetid

adjective

a variant spelling of fetid

Derived Formsfoetidly, adverbfoetidness, noun

fetid

foetid

adjective

having a stale nauseating smell, as of decay

Derived Formsfetidly or foetidly, adverbfetidness or foetidness, noun

Word Origin for fetid

C16: from Latin fētidus, from fētēre to stink; related to fūmus smoke

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for foetid

adj.

see fetid; for spelling, see oe.

fetid

adj.

early 15c., from Latin fetidus (commonly, but incorrectly, foetidus) "stinking," from fetere "have a bad smell, stink." Perhaps connected with fimus "dung," or with fumus "smoke."

Medicine definitions for foetid

fetid

[fĕt′ĭd, fē′tĭd]

adj.

Having an offensive odor.