What does faeces mean?
"Faeces" refers to the solid waste matter that remains after food has been digested and passes out of the body through the bowels. It is the standard British spelling of the word, which Americans write as "feces". Grammatically unusual, it exists only in plural form — like "scissors" or "clothes" — so speakers say "the faeces were analysed" rather than inventing a singular. The register is formal and clinical: doctors, veterinarians, ecologists, and public-health officials favour it precisely because it is precise and impersonal, while ordinary speech prefers softer euphemisms such as "poo" or "droppings". The word derives from the Latin faex, meaning "dregs" or sediment — the lees left at the bottom of a wine vessel — which gives it an unexpectedly genteel pedigree. Related derivatives include the adjectives "faecal" (British) and "fecal" (American), as in "faecal contamination". Though unglamorous, the word is indispensable in medicine and science, where frankness matters and ambiguity is unwelcome.
nounWaste matter remaining after food has been digested, discharged from the bowels; excrement. The standard British spelling of the word more commonly written 'feces' in American English.
- Waste matter eliminated from the bowels; excrement (always plural in form).
"The veterinarian asked for a fresh sample of the dog's faeces to test for parasites."
"Analysis of the ancient latrine deposits revealed faeces preserved for over a thousand years."
"Farmers once spread animal faeces on their fields as a natural fertiliser."
"Faeces" is a plurale tantum — it appears only in plural form and takes plural verbs. There is no singular "faex" in modern English use; to refer to a single piece, rephrase (e.g., "a stool sample").
"The faeces collected from the nest were sent for parasitological analysis."
The polite-sounding 'faeces' comes straight from the Latin for 'dregs' — the sediment left at the bottom of a wine jar.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of faeces
"Faeces" entered English in the early seventeenth century as a medical term, borrowed directly from the Latin faeces, the plural of faex meaning "dregs" or "sediment" — originally the lees settling at the bottom of wine. Latin used the plural because waste matter consists of many particles, and English preserved both the spelling and the plural-only form. From the same root come the adjectives "faecal"/"fecal" and the rarer "feculent". The simplified American spelling "feces" reflects later orthographic regularisation rather than a separate etymological line.
Related word forms
How faeces is actually used
"Faeces" is the standard British spelling; American English uses "feces". It is a plural-only noun (a plurale tantum) with no singular form — one would say "the faeces were examined", never "a faece". The register is clinical or formal, typical of medical, scientific, and veterinary writing; everyday conversation favours euphemisms like "poo" or "droppings" depending on context.
Easily confused with faeces
"Faces" are the front parts of heads or surfaces, while "faeces" means bodily waste — a single letter separates two entirely unrelated meanings.