foraminifera

The story

1. Latin · derived fromforāmina“apertures, holes”
2. French · derived fromForaminifères
3. French · derived fromforaminifère“foraminifer, foraminifera”
4. English todayforaminifera

Learned borrowing from New Latin Foraminifera (subphylum name), from French foraminifère (“foraminifer, foraminifera”), from French Foraminifères, coined by the French naturalist Alcide d’Orbigny (1802–1857) in an 1826 article. Foraminifère is derived from Latin forāmina (“apertures, holes”) + -fer (“-bearing”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from mid 19th c. Synonym of foraminifer (“any of a large group of aquatic amoeboid protists of the subphylum Foraminifera, characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm that among other things is used for catching food, often with a calcareous shell with many holes through which pseudopodia protrude”).