Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Same as fetus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun chiefly UK, hypercorrect Alternative spelling of fetus.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an unborn or unhatched vertebrate in the later stages of development showing the main recognizable features of the mature animal

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Hypercorrect spelling of fetus attested since the 16th century; from Latin fetus ("bringing forth offspring").

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Examples

  • The position held above in the comments that a foetus is just a set of cells and not a person is refuted with a consideration of simple geography: compare a 7-month premature baby kept alive in an incubator, with a 7-month "foetus" in the womb.

    Balkinization 2007

  • Milk and egg allergy 'worse for winter conceptions', and springtime pollen in foetus '11th week is key, says study

    Chance of developing allergies linked to month of conception Denis Campbell 2010

  • If the foetus is not a human person, then the rights of the one in the situation who is a human person (viz. the pregnant woman) are clearly paramount.

    Punishment 2008

  • Most abortions take place well before the foetus is "human", ie. before it could grow and survive without its mother's uterus.

    Pro Death Lobby Newmania 2007

  • Scientists have suggested that the higher the level of testosterone, the more masculine the resulting foetus is likely to be, with its associated traits of strength, fertility and mathematical ability.

    Boing Boing: September 24, 2006 - September 30, 2006 Archives 2006

  • The human body constantly generates new blood vessels: as a foetus is formed, for example, or as a healthy body grows, or as the body heals itself after an injury.

    A Canadian Technology Success Story Cancer Therapy: From Concept to Commonplace 2000

  • I would be hard pressed supporting the termination of a near-term foetus without a pretty good explanation, to add another data point, this time on the "pro life" side of the equation.

    Stirrup Queens Lollipopgoldstein 2010

  • Although the foetus is developing within the mother’s body, it is a body in itself - a different life in a relationship of symbiosis with the body of the mother in order to be developed.

    Global Voices in English » East Timor: Thoughts on Abortion A Few Days Before Law Approval 2009

  • What common ground could there possibly be between those who believe life begins at conception and therefore should be protected, and those who believe a foetus is a cluster of disposable cells.

    Obama sounds like Rowan Williams « Anglican Samizdat 2009

  • The question about whether a foetus is a human being with all the same rights as a breathing, independent individual is one I cannot answer.

    Varieties of Pro-Choice? | Mind on Fire 2009

Comments

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  • Cookie cutter.

    August 27, 2009

  • ... I need one of those.

    August 27, 2009

  • It reminds me of Cake Wrecks.

    August 27, 2009

  • Here.

    I'm sure sionnach will love that site as there's lots of cheap stuff under $7.

    August 27, 2009

  • Well, it's a bit better than the Pregnant Lady Keychain.

    August 27, 2009

  • ... really? Is it like a mudflap-looking lady, but she's pregnant? That would be teh alsome.

    Edit: Went to look. Disappointed. Is not mudflap lady.

    August 27, 2009

  • Nope. Definitely not a mudflap lady. Plus you're at risk of...uh...losing the fetus if you're not careful.

    That didn't sound as ridiculous in my head.

    August 28, 2009

  • What's with all the mudflappage?

    August 28, 2009

  • This.

    Oh, and c_b, this may be what you were hoping for at the other link.

    August 28, 2009

  • There are things on mudflaps? *shakes head*

    August 28, 2009

  • YESSS!!! YEESSSSSS!!! Thank you, reesetee!!

    August 28, 2009

  • My pleasure. And Happy Foetus.

    August 31, 2009