Wiktionary

fossa

See also: Fossa, fossá, fossą, and Fossą

English

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Etymology 1

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Unadapted borrowing from Latin fossa (“a ditch, trench, fosse”). Doublet of fosse.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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fossa (plural fossae or (obsolete) fossæ)

  1. (anatomy) A pit, groove, cavity, or depression.
    Hyponyms: cubital fossa, fossa of Rosenmüller, glenoid fossa, iliac fossa, incisive fossa, infratemporal fossa, nasal fossa, piriform fossa, popliteal fossa, pterygopalatine fossa, rhomboid fossa, suprainiac fossa, temporal fossa
    Coordinate terms: fovea, sinus
  2. (astronomy) A long, narrow, shallow depression on the body of an extraterrestrial body, such as a planet or moon.
Derived terms
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Translations
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References

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Etymology 2

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A fossa in a zoo in Texas, USA

Borrowing from Malagasy fosa which likely once referred to the Malayan weasel (Mustela nudipes) prior to a semantic shift,[1] thus cognate with Malay pusak and Tagalog pusa both meaning "cat".

Pronunciation

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Noun

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fossa (plural fossas)

  1. A large nocturnal reddish-brown catlike mammal (Cryptoprocta ferox) of the civet family, endemic to the rainforests of Madagascar. It is slender, long-tailed and has retractile claws and anal scent glands.
Descendants
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  • → Portuguese: fossa
  • → Translingual: Fossa
Translations
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References

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  • ^ Blench, Roger, Walsh, Martin (2011) “Faunal names in Malagasy: their etymologies and implications for the prehistory of the East African coast”, in 11th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics‎[1], Aussois, France, pages 1–31

    • Anagrams

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    Catalan

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    Etymology 1

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    Inherited from Latin fossa.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    fossa f (plural fosses)

    1. grave, pit
      fossa comuna ― mass grave
    2. (anatomy, astronomy) fossa
    Derived terms
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    Etymology 2

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    Borrowed from Malagasy fosa.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    fossa f (plural fosses)

    1. fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

    Etymology 3

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    Pronunciation

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    Verb

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    fossa

    1. inflection of fossar:
      1. third-person singular present indicative
      2. second-person singular imperative

    Further reading

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    Hungarian

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    Etymology

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    From fosik or fos +‎ -ja (personal suffix)

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): [ˈfoʃːɒ]
    • Hyphenation: fos‧sa
    • Rhymes: -ʃɒ

    Verb

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    fossa

    1. third-person singular indicative present definite of fosik or fos
    2. third-person singular subjunctive present definite of fosik or fos

    Usage notes

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    This form also occurs when a verbal prefix is separated from the verb:

    Icelandic

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    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    fossa

    1. indefinite accusative/genitive plural of foss

    Italian

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    Etymology

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    From Latin fossa.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    fossa f (plural fosse)

    1. pit, hole
    2. grave
    3. (anatomy) fossa
    4. trough (depression between waves or ridges)

    Derived terms

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    Further reading

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    • fossa in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

    Anagrams

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    Ladin

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    Verb

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    fossa

    1. third-person singular/plural imperfect subjunctive of ester

    Latin

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    Etymology

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    Ellipsis of fossa terra (“dug-up earth”).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    fossa f (genitive fossae); first declension

    1. (literal)
      1. (in general) a ditch, trench, moat, fosse
      Synonyms: fovea, scrobis, fossiō
      1. a gutter, waterway
        Synonym: colliciae
      2. a furrow drawn to mark foundations
      3. (Late Latin) a grave
    2. (transferred sense) a boundary
      This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

    Inflection

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    First-declension noun.

    Case Singular Plural
    Nominative fossa fossae
    Genitive fossae fossārum
    Dative fossae fossīs
    Accusative fossam fossās
    Ablative fossā fossīs
    Vocative fossa fossae

    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    Descendants of fossa in other languages

    References

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    • “fossa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • “fossa”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • fossa in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
    • fossa in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
    • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
      • to make a ditch, a fosse: fossam ducere
      • to surround a town with a rampart and fosse: oppidum cingere vallo et fossa
    • “fossa”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “fossa”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

    Norwegian Bokmål

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    Etymology 1

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    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Alternative forms

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    Verb

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    fossa

    1. inflection of fosse:
      1. simple past
      2. past participle

    Etymology 2

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    Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia nb

    From Malagasy fosa.

    Noun

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    fossa m (definite singular fossaen, indefinite plural fossaer, definite plural fossaene)

    1. a fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

    Norwegian Nynorsk

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    Etymology 1

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    Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia nn
     
    fossa

    From Malagasy fosa.

    Noun

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    fossa m (definite singular fossaen, indefinite plural fossaer or fossaar, definite plural fossaene or fossaane)

    1. a fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

    Etymology 2

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    From the noun foss m (“waterfall”).

    Alternative forms

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    • fosse (e- and split infinitives)

    Verb

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    fossa (present tense fossar, past tense fossa, past participle fossa, passive infinitive fossast, present participle fossande, imperative fossa/foss)

    1. (intransitive) to flow rapidly, fizz, roar, foam

    References

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    Anagrams

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    Old Norse

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    Noun

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    fossa

    1. genitive plural indefinite of foss m

    Polish

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    Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia pl

    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Malagasy fosa.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    fossa f

    1. fossa (any mammal of the genus Cryptoprocta)

    Declension

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    Declension of fossa
    singular plural
    nominative fossa fossy
    genitive fossy foss
    dative fossie fossom
    accusative fossę fossy
    instrumental fossą fossami
    locative fossie fossach
    vocative fosso fossy

    Further reading

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    • fossa in Polish dictionaries at PWN

    Portuguese

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    Pronunciation

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    Etymology 1

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    From Latin fossa.[1][2]

    Noun

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    fossa f (plural fossas)

    1. hole, hollow, cavity
      Synonym: cova
    2. septic tank
    3. (geology) oceanic trench
    Derived terms
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    Etymology 2

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    Borrowed from English fossa, from Malagasy fosa.[2]

    Noun

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    fossa f (plural fossas)

    1. fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

    Etymology 3

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    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

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    fossa

    1. inflection of fossar:
      1. third-person singular present indicative
      2. second-person singular imperative

    References

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    1. ^ “fossa” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “fossa” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
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