Fungus

How to spell fungus

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce fungus

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does fungus mean?

1. nounA spore-producing organism such as a mushroom, mould, or mildew, feeding on organic matter.

Fungus in a sentence

• A grey fungus had spread across the damp bathroom ceiling.

• The gardener treated the rose bushes for a leaf fungus.

Where does fungus come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes directly from the Latin fungus, which simply meant 'mushroom' and was used more loosely for spongy growths of all kinds. The Romans most likely borrowed the term from Greek, where sphongos (later spongos) meant 'sponge', and the connection makes sense because both mushrooms and sponges share that soft, porous texture. English took the Latin word over wholesale in the early sixteenth century, keeping its original spelling intact. Because it is a true Latin noun, it carries the classical plural 'fungi', and the modern scientific senses (covering moulds, yeasts and mildews as well as mushrooms) grew out of botany and later mycology. The single 'g' followed by 'us' is the spelling trap, since speakers sometimes expect a doubled letter or an '-ous' ending.

How the word is built

• fungus (Latin root for mushroom or sponge), unaltered as an English noun