fossa1
[fos-uh]
- a pit, cavity, or depression, as in a bone.
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Origin of fossa1
1820–30; < Latin: ditch, trench, fosse, short for fossa (terra) dug or dug out (earth), noun use of feminine of fossus, past participle of fodere to dig
fossa2
[fos-uh]
- a forest-dwelling genetlike mammal, Cryptoprocta ferox, of the civet family, native to Madagascar, with a short coat of white, black, gray, or brown: now rare.
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Origin of fossa2
1830–40; < Malagasy; compare earlier fossane (< French < Malagasy)
Also called fossa cat.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fossae
Historical Examples
These fossae and all the cranium posterior to them are missing.
American WeaselsE. Raymond Hall
On the cranial surface of the pinna elevations correspond to the concha and to the fossae 792 of the helix and antihelix.
The distance between the temporal ridges about four-fifths the width of the cranium at the fossae.
Extinct BirdsWalter Rothschild
fossa1
- an anatomical depression, trench, or hollow area
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Word Origin
C19: from Latin: ditch, from fossus dug up, from fodere to dig up
fossa2
- a large primitive catlike viverrine mammal, Cryptoprocta ferox, inhabiting the forests of Madagascar: order Carnivora (carnivores). It has thick reddish-brown fur and preys on lemurs, poultry, etc
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Word Origin
from Malagasy
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
fossa
(fŏs′ə)- A small longitudinal cavity or depression, as in a bone.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.