fœtus

Noun

fœtus (plural fœtuses or fœtus or (rare) fœtûs or (hypercorrect) fœti)

1. Dated spelling of foetus.
   • The progress of the fœtus appears to be much quicker in the early than latter months: but the proportional increase is attended with difficulty in the calculation; for this, among other reasons, that we have not an opportunity of knowing the magnitude or weight of the same fœtus in different months.1784, Charles Elliot, A system of anatomy: from Monro, Winslow, Innes, and the latest authers
   • The umbilical vein arises from the collected branches of the placenta, and enters the fœtus at the navel, it runs inclosed within a thick sheath, which afterwards forms the lower part of the suspensory ligament, to the horizontal fissure, where it gives off some branches on either side of the...1800, Richard Powell, Observations on the bile and its diseases,and on the oeconomy of the liver