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fomite. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
fomite, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
fomite in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
fomite you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
A back-formation from fomites, plural of fomes, a borrowing of medical Latin fōmes (“tinder, kindling”), used figuratively to evoke the analogy of a spreading infection to a spreading fire.
Pronunciation
Noun
fomite (plural fomites)
- (medicine) An inanimate object capable of carrying infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses or prions), and thus passively enabling their transmission between hosts; common examples include towels, dishcloths, kitchenware/flatware, and laundry.
1859, Richard Francis Burton, “The Lake Regions of Central Equatorial Africa...”, in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, number 29, page 134:
2009, Raina M. Maier et al., Environmental Microbiology, page 559:Alternatively, such fluids may be transferred from soiled hands to fomites, or airborne organisms may impinge or settle onto fomite surfaces. Fomites may also serve as a site for the replication of a pathogen, as in the case of enteric bacteria in household sponges or dishcloths.
Synonyms
Translations
inanimate object capable of transferring infectious agents
References
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin fōmes.
Pronunciation
Noun
fomite m (plural fomiti)
- incitement
- cause, source
1980, Umberto Eco, “Primo giorno - Sesta”, in Il nome della rosa [The Name of the Rose] (I grandi tascabili), Milan: Bompiani, published 1984, page 71:Egli ha insozzato la parola di Gioacchino di Calabria e ne ha fatto fomite di morte e sporcizia!- He besmirched Gioacchino di Calabria's words and made them source of death and filth!
Latin
Noun
fōmite
- ablative singular of fōmes