Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fomite

/ˈfoʊmaɪt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: fomite
IPA: /ˈfoʊmaɪt/

11

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An inanimate object capable of carrying infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses or prions), and thus passively enabling their transmission between hosts; common examples include towels, dishcloths, kitchenware/flatware, and laundry.

Example Sentences

"This must be an efficacious fomite of cutaneous and pectoral disease."
"Alternatively, such fluids may be transferred from soiled hands to fomites, or airborne organisms may impinge or settle onto fomite surfaces. Fomites may also serve as a site for the replication of a pathogen, as in the case of enteric bacteria in household sponges or dishcloths."

Etymology

A back-formation from fomites, plural of fomes, a borrowing of medical Latin fōmes (“tinder, kindling”), used figuratively to evoke the analogy of a spreading infection to a spreading fire.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *dʰegʷʰ-, fōmes

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈfoʊmaɪt/
British English: /ˈfəʊmʌɪt/

Inflected Forms

fomites (plural)

Synonyms

fomes vehicle

Rhymes With

bromite

Questions

How do you pronounce fomite?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfoʊmaɪt/.
What does fomite mean?: An inanimate object capable of carrying infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses or prions), and thus passively enabling their transmission between hosts; common examples include towels, dishcloths, kitchenware/flatware, and laundry.
Where does fomite come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce fomite

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