Fetuses - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

fe·tus

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–noun, plural -tus·es. Embryology.

(used chiefly of viviparous mammals) the young of an animal in the womb or egg, esp. in the later stages of development when the body structures are in the recognizable form of its kind, in humans after the end of the second month of gestation.

Also, especially British, foetus.

Compare embryo (def. 2).

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L fétus bringing forth of young, hence that which is born, offspring, young still in the womb, equiv. to fé- (v. base attested in L only in n. derivatives, as fémina woman, fécundus fecund, etc.; cf. Gk thésthai to suck, milk, OHG tāan to suck, OIr denid (he) sucks) + -tus suffix of v. action

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Fetuses

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fe·tus Audio Help (fē'təs) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. fe·tus·es

The unborn young of a viviparous vertebrate having a basic structural resemblance to the adult animal.
In humans, the unborn young from the end of the eighth week after conception to the moment of birth, as distinguished from the earlier embryo.

[Middle English, from Latin fētus, offspring; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fetus Audio Help (fē'təs) Pronunciation Key
The unborn offspring of a mammal at the later stages of its development, especially a human from eight weeks after fertilization to its birth. In a fetus, all major body organs are present.

fetal adjective

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