*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of fossa

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

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A pit, groove, cavity, or depression. · A long, narrow, shallow depression on the body of an extraterrestrial body, such as a planet or moon.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Unadapted borrowing mentionfossala
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ubor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "fossa",
        "4": "",
        "5": "a ditch, trench, fosse"
      },
      "expansion": "Unadapted borrowing from Latin fossa (“a ditch, trench, fosse”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fosse"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of fosse"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fossa",
      "fossa#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "fosse",
      "fosse#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A pit, groove, cavity, or depression.",
        "A long, narrow, shallow depression on the body of an extraterrestrial body, such as a planet or moon."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "191ecc43076db2764ad4b1f67134535ad605933b4953e5de2114c4877facd787",
      "rawRecordSha256": "216c7c3d3a1a50df0ec6ec5d13bd270c6c0461207667358c0192acbf6761306e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 508926
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

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.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

[Alt: Cryptoprocta ferox 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".

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionfosamg
  • Cognate mentionpusakms
  • Cognate mentionpusatl
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "taxfmt",
      "args": {
        "1": "Cryptoprocta ferox",
        "2": "species"
      },
      "expansion": "Cryptoprocta ferox"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mg",
        "3": "fosa"
      },
      "expansion": "Malagasy fosa"
    },
    {
      "name": "taxlink",
      "args": {
        "1": "Mustela nudipes",
        "2": "species"
      },
      "expansion": "Mustela nudipes"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ms",
        "2": "pusak"
      },
      "expansion": "Malay pusak"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "tl",
        "2": "pusa"
      },
      "expansion": "Tagalog pusa"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Cryptoprocta ferox",
      "Cryptoprocta ferox#Translingual"
    ],
    [
      "fosa",
      "fosa#Malagasy"
    ],
    [
      "pusak",
      "pusak#Malay"
    ],
    [
      "pusa",
      "pusa#Tagalog"
    ],
    [
      "cat",
      "cat#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "fossa",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "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."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "ad2d964121f88c9ee26eae7a5232d3664a5e0c18620c4ab463936fc12e267e13",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8917eb2b4cc16e3c4982d626779b27746dc012bebe15c35b41fd720bbc4adb77",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 508927
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for fossa →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Zm9zc2E