Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An inanimate object or substance that is capable of transmitting infectious organisms from one individual to another.

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

  • noun medicine, epidemiology An inanimate object capable of carrying infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses and parasites), and thus passively enabling their transmission between hosts.

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

  • noun any inanimate object (as a towel or money or clothing or dishes or books or toys etc.) that can transmit infectious agents from one person to another

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Back-formation from New Latin fōmitēs, pl. of Latin fōmes, tinder, from fovēre, to warm; see dhegwh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Backformation from plural, Latin fomites.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Consider the mysophobe's plight:

    He's trying his best to be polite

    While hiding his fear

    That everything near

    Is a fierce and slavering fomite.

    June 1, 2014

  • Also see fomes.

    January 15, 2019