Meanings
- pluralrareplural of fœtus
The encephalon of the fœtal gorilla weighed 28 grammes, or one sixteenth of the weight of the whole body; in both fœtûs the cerebellum was very small and completely covered by the cerebrum.
1887 June, “Embryogeny of Anthropoid Apes”, in Frank Crisp, editor, Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society; […], London; Edinburgh: […] [F]or the Society by Williams & Norgate, →ISSN, →OCLC, “Summary of Current Researches Relating to Zoology and Botany (Principally Invertebrata and Cryptogamia), Microscopy, &c., […]” section, page 3705 more examples
The immediate consequence was an order from the Secretary of State, that in future no fœtus should be received at a school without sending to the inspector a certificate of its birth, and its death before or directly after birth, signed by the medical attendant, or some other person present at the time, and by the teacher receiving the body. The result has been, indeed, that the number of fœtûs brought to the schools has been greatly diminished, the parents not liking such facts to be generally known; […]
1841 May 28, “The Anatomy Bill”, in The London Medical Gazette; […], volumes II (New Series; for the session 1840–41), London: […] Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans, […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 397, column 1The placenta and fœtal membranes were fortunately preserved with the fœtus of the gibbon, and their characters are described and figured, but unfortunately these parts were not obtained with the young gorilla, and so could not be described. A résumé is given of the observations of Owen, Huxley, Turner, and others on the placentation of apes and monkeys. The next section contains an account of the weight and dimensions of the various parts of the body of the respective fœtûs.
1887 March 31, “Embryogeny of the Anthropoid Apes […]”, in Nature […], volume XXXV, number 909, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 509, column 2A review of the treatment of the cases of placenta previa at the Brooklyn Hospital for the past ten years. The incidence of placenta prævia was 0.5 per cent. The maternal mortality was nine per cent and that of the fœtûs 68 per cent.
1931 autumn, W. W. King, “The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynæcology”, in Comyns Berkeley, editor, The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynæcology of the British Empire, volume 38 (New Series), number 3, Manchester: Sherratt & Hughes, →ISSN, →OCLC, “Review of Current Literature” section, page 648A deficiency of either vitamin A or vitamin E, and possibly of vitamins B, C or D, in the diet of pregnant animals is associated with death and absorption of the fœtûs. The act of parturition in the rat can be so grossly altered as to prevent the birth of the fœtûs if the diet on which the mother is fed is deficient in vitamin A. The teeth of the litter, and the size of their thyroid glands are indubitably dependent on the diet of their mother.
1936, G. W. Theobald, “Errors in the Average English Dietary Exposed by Pregnancy”, in The Journal of State Medicine […], volume XLIV, London: Royal Institute of Public Health, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 587The total number of fœtûs born was 331, i.e., 164 cases of twin pregnancy and one case of triplets. The sex of the fœtûs, and the order in which they were delivered, were as follows:— […]
1937 October 1, H. I. McClure, “Multiple Pregnancy”, in P. T. Crymble, R. J. Johnstone, W. W. D. Thomson, J. S. Young, editors, The Ulster Medical Journal, volume VI, number 4, Belfast: […] [F]or the Ulster Medical Society by Graham and Heslip, […], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Dec 2024, page 290
Origin
- Latinfoetūs
- Englishfœtûs
From Latin foetūs, plural of foetus.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
fœtûs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/f%C5%93t%C3%BBs
“fœtûs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/f%C5%93t%C3%BBs. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fœtûs,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/f%C5%93t%C3%BBs.
Source: fœtûs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.