foss

See also: FOSS, Foss, Foß, and fos

English

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɑs/, /fɔs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɒs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

foss (plural fosses)

1. Alternative spelling of fosse.

Etymology 2

From Icelandic or Norwegian foss, both from Old Norse fors (“waterfall”). Doublet of force (“waterfall”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɔs/

Noun

foss (plural fosses)

1. (Northern England) A waterfall.
   • 2017, Benjamin Myers, The Gallows Pole, Bloomsbury, published 2019, page 101:

     Another of his flock was spotted garrotted, one found twisted and drowned at the bottom of a foss and a third split cleanly from scut to teeth.

Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔsː/
• Rhymes: -ɔsː

Noun

foss

1. indefinite accusative singular of fossur
2. indefinite genitive singular of fossur

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• fossál

Etymology

fosik +‎ -j

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfoʃː]
• Hyphenation: foss
• Rhymes: -oʃː

Verb

foss

1. second-person singular subjunctive present indefinite of fosik

Icelandic

Alternative forms

• fors

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse fors.

Cognates: Faroese fossur, Norwegian fors, Danish fors, Swedish fors, English force (in the sense of a waterfall), Middle Low German vorsch and Norn fors.

The only descendent of the word is English foss.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fɔsː/

• (Northern Iceland, Southern Iceland) IPA^(key): [fɔs̠ː]
• Rhymes: -ɔsː

Noun

foss m (genitive singular foss, nominative plural fossar)

1. a waterfall (permanent flow of water over the edge of a cliff)

Norwegian Bokmål

foss

Etymology

From Danish fos, revived through Norwegian foss, from Old Norse foss, fors, from Proto-Germanic *fursaz.

Noun

foss m (definite singular fossen, indefinite plural fosser, definite plural fossene)

1. a waterfall

Synonyms

• fossefall
• vannfall, vassfall

Derived terms

• fosse (verb)

References

• “foss” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• fors
• førs, føss (dialectal)

Etymology

From Old Norse fors, foss, from Proto-Germanic *fursaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fosː/, [fɞ̞sː]

Noun

foss m (definite singular fossen, indefinite plural fossar, definite plural fossane)

1. a waterfall

   Synonyms: fossefall, vassfall

Derived terms

• fossa (verb)

• fossebrus
• fossedrev
• fossedur
• fossefall
• fossegrim
• fossekall
• fossekraft
• fosseskum
• fossestryk
• fossestup
• fosskoka
• fossregna
• fossro
• Ulefoss
• åfoss

 

References

• “foss” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “foss” in Ivar Aasen (1873) Norsk Ordbog med dansk Forklaring

Old Irish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *uɸostos, from Proto-Indo-European *upo-sth₂-ós, from *upó (“under”) +‎ *steh₂- (“to stand”) +‎ *-ós (“agent suffix”). Cognate to Welsh gwas (“servant”).

Noun

foss m (genitive foiss)

1. servant

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	foss	fossL	foissL
Vocative	foiss	fossL	fossuH
Accusative	fossN	fossL	fossuH
Genitive	foissL	foss	fossN
Dative	fossL	fossaib	fossaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Etymology 2

From Proto-Celtic *wostos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to stay”). Cognate to Middle Welsh gwas (“abode”).

Noun

foss m (genitive foiss)

1. rest, halt, the state of not being in motion
2. perseverance

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	foss	fossL	foissL
Vocative	foiss	fossL	fossuH
Accusative	fossN	fossL	fossuH
Genitive	foissL	foss	fossN
Dative	fossL	fossaib	fossaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Irish: fos

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
foss	ḟoss	foss pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 foss, fos 'man-servant'”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 foss 'rest'”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language