English
fetus
Fetus comes from Latin fētus ‘offspring’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-‘to suckle, nurse’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-tu-sreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fētusreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfētus‘offspring’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959fetus
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁(y)-‘to suckle, nurse’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-tu-sreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fētusreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfētus‘offspring’
- Englishearliest quotation 1959fetus
Earliest quotation: 1959, 1689, John Locke: “The real essence of that or any other sort…”
The story
A learned borrowing from Latin fētus (‘offspring’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- ‘to suckle, nurse’
female, feminist, doe, feminism, tyre, dai, felicity, femininity, femme, filial, effeminate, fellatio, fecundity, dahi, 30 more
through Latin fētus ‘offspring’
Today it means
noun An unborn or unhatched vertebrate showing signs of the mature animal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- / fetus