fungus

Borrowed from Latin fungus (“mushroom”).

Picture dictionary
organism
mold mushroom

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈfʌŋ.ɡəs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌŋɡəs

fungus (countable and uncountable, plural fungi or funguses)

1. (mycology) Any member of the kingdom Fungi; a eukaryotic organism typically having chitin cell walls but no chlorophyll or plastids. Fungi may be unicellular or multicellular.
   • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

     Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.

2. (obsolete) Proud flesh formed on a wound.

• (organism): ascomycete, basidiomycete, mold, mushroom, toadstool, yeast

• fungous

• IPA^(key): /fɔ̃.ɡys/

fungus m (plural fungus)

1. Alternative spelling of fongus

Originally sfungus. Likely a loanword from a non-Indo-European substrate language. Compare Ancient Greek σπόγγος (spóngos) (whence Latin spongia) and Old Armenian սունկն (sunkn).

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈfun.ɡus/, [ˈfʊŋ.ɡʊs]

fungus m (genitive fungī); second declension

1. a mushroom; a fungus
2. a fungal growth or infection
3. a candle-snuff
4. (figuratively) dolt, idiot

Second declension.

• fungīnus
• fungōsus
• fungulus

• fungidus

• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill
• fungus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• fungus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fungus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• fungus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to perform the last rites for a person: supremo officio in aliquem fungi
    
  • (ambiguous) to live a perfect life: virtutis perfectae perfecto munere fungi (Tusc. 1. 45. 109)
    
  • (ambiguous) to do one's duty: officio suo fungi
    
  • (ambiguous) to perform official duties: munere fungi, muneri praeesse