Fungal

How to spell fungal

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce fungal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does fungal mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to, caused by, or characteristic of a fungus.

Fungal in a sentence

• The doctor prescribed a cream to treat the fungal infection on his foot.

• Damp walls in the basement encouraged fungal growth behind the cabinets.

Where does fungal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Fungal is built on the Latin noun fungus, which meant 'mushroom' or 'fungus' and is thought to be related to the Greek word sphongos or spongos, meaning 'sponge', a fitting comparison given the soft, spongy texture of many mushrooms. Latin used fungus loosely for mushrooms, toadstools and other growths, and the word passed into English in the sixteenth century as a botanical and medical term. The adjective fungal was formed much later, in the nineteenth century, by adding the ordinary English suffix -al, meaning 'relating to', once fungi were studied scientifically as their own kingdom of life. The spelling keeps the single hard 'g' of the Latin root rather than the softer 'g' some readers expect, and the ending is -al, not the -le that trips people up in similar-sounding words. A useful memory link is that fungus, fungi and fungal all share the same compact fung- core, so the adjective simply swaps the noun ending for -al.

How the word is built

• fung- (from Latin fungus: mushroom, fungus)
• -al (adjective suffix: relating to)