fossa

English

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɒ.sə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑ.sə/, /ˈfɔ.sə/
• Rhymes: -ɒsə, -ɑsə, -ɔsə

Noun

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

Related terms

• fosse
• fossula
• fossulate

Translations

References

• fossa (anatomy) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

• Approximation of Malagasy pronunciation :
  • (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈfuː.sə/, /ˈfʊ.sə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Spelling pronunciation according to English orthography:
  • (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɒ.sə/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑ.sə/, /ˈfɔ.sə/
• Rhymes: -uːsə, -ʊsə, -ɒsə, -ɑsə, -ɔsə

Noun

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

• → Portuguese: fossa
• → Translingual: Fossa

Translations

References

• fossa (animal) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “fossa”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “fossa”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• SOFAs, sofas

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin fossa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Noun

fossa f (plural fosses)

1. grave, pit

   fossa comuna ― mass grave

2. (anatomy, astronomy) fossa

Derived terms

• fossat
• fosser

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Malagasy fosa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Noun

fossa f (plural fosses)

1. fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Verb

fossa

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

Further reading

• “fossa” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Hungarian

Etymology

From fosik or fos +‎ -ja (personal suffix)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: fos‧sa
• Rhymes: -ʃɒ

Verb

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

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

• fossa (…) le, le … fossa ― lefossa ― lefos
• and some more, see its derivatives with verbal prefixes.

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔsːa

Noun

fossa

1. indefinite accusative/genitive plural of foss

Italian

Etymology

From Latin fossa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔs.sa/
• Rhymes: -ɔssa
• Hyphenation: fòs‧sa

Noun

fossa f (plural fosse)

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

Derived terms

Related terms

• fossato

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• sfaso, sfasò

Ladin

Verb

fossa

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

Latin

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfos.sa/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfos.sa/,

Noun

fossa f (genitive fossae); first declension

1. (literal)
   1. (in general) a ditch, trench, moat, fosse
   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita I.33:

     Quiritium quoque fossa [...] Anci regis opus est

     Also the Quirites’ ditch was the work of king Ancus

   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

First-declension noun.

Derived terms

• fossula

Related terms

Descendants

References

• “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, 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

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Alternative forms

• fosset

Verb

fossa

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

Etymology 2

Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:

fossa

Wikipedia ^nb

From Malagasy fosa.

Noun

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

1. a fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

fossa

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

From Malagasy fosa.

Noun

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

1. a fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

Etymology 2

From the noun foss m (“waterfall”).

Alternative forms

• fosse (e- and split infinitives)

Verb

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

• “fossa” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• ofsas

Old Norse

Noun

fossa

1. genitive plural indefinite of foss m

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

fossa

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from Malagasy fosa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔs.sa/
• Rhymes: -ɔssa
• Syllabification: fos‧sa
• Homophone: Fossa

Noun

fossa f

1. fossa (any mammal of the genus Cryptoprocta)

Declension

Further reading

• fossa in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Latin fossa.

Noun

fossa f (plural fossas)

1. hole, hollow, cavity

   Synonym: cova

2. septic tank
3. (geology) oceanic trench

Derived terms

• Fossa das Marianas
• fossa nasal

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English fossa, from Malagasy fosa.

Noun

fossa f (plural fossas)

1. fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

fossa

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

References