different between defecate vs faeces

English

Alternative forms

• defæcate
• defaecate

Etymology

From the participle stem of Latin d?faec?re (“to purify”), from de- and faex (“dreg, impurity”).

Pronunciation

(verb)

• IPA^(key): /?d?f?ke?t/

(adjective)

• IPA^(key): /?d?f?k?t/

Verb

defecate (third-person singular simple present defecates, present participle defecating, simple past and past participle defecated)

1. (intransitive) To excrete feces from one's bowels.
2. (now rare) To purify, to clean of dregs etc.
   • Some are of opinion that such fat, standing waters make the best beer, and that seething doth defecate it […].

3. (now rare, transitive) To purge; to pass (something) as excrement.

Synonyms

• (excrete feces): See Thesaurus:defecate

Related terms

• defecation
• feces

Translations

Adjective

defecate (comparative more defecate, superlative most defecate)

1. (obsolete) Freed from pollutants, dregs, lees, etc.; refined; purified.
   • 1699, William Bates, Spiritual Perfection, unfolded and enforced

     Till the soul be defecate from the dregs of sense.

Anagrams

• feceated

Italian

Verb

defecate

1. second-person plural present and imperative of defecare

Latin

Verb

d?fec?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of d?fec?

English

Noun

faeces pl (normally plural, singular faex)

1. Britain standard spelling of feces.
   • 1968 May, W. B. Healy, Ingestion of Soil by Dairy Cows, New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, page 487,

     This paper reports on ingestion of soil by dairy cows using titanium analysis of faeces by the X-ray fluorescence technique, and gives the range of soil intakes of a year on both an individual and a herd basis.

   • 1984 April 19, David F. Chantrey, James B. Reid, C. E. Davie, Dog Business, New Scientist, page 48,

     The fact that dogs have a well developed sense of smell suggests that they might be able to use the odour of faeces as a means of communicating.

   • 2004, Håkan Jönsson, Håkan Jönsson, Anna Richert Stintzing, Björn Vinnerås, Eva Salomon, Guidelines on the Use of Urine and Faeces in Crop Production, page 1,

     Urine and faeces are complete fertilizers of high quality with low levels of contaminants such as heavy metals. Urine is rich in nitrogen, while faeces are rich in phosphorous, potassium and organic matter.

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?fae?.ke?s/, [?fäe?ke?s?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?fe.t??es/, [?f??t???s]

Noun

faec?s

1. nominative plural of faex
2. accusative plural of faex
3. vocative plural of faex

References

• faeces in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers