Faeces vs feces

Photo of author

Grammarist

Faeces is bodily waste excreted from the bowels, through the anus. The adjective is faecal. Faeces comes from the Latin word, faceces, which means sediment, dregs. Faeces began to directly refer to human excrement in the seventeenth century. Faeces refers to any animal’s solid waste, excreted from the bowels, through the anus.

In North America, the spelling is feces and the adjective is spelled fecal.

Examples

Known as faecal microbiota transplantation, the method has been criticised by medical experts who say its alleged healing powers have not been proven, but appears to have support from celebrity chef Pete Evans after he shared Kirsty’s story on his Facebook page. (The Daily Mail)

But in its March 2014 judgment, the apex court accepted the sample data provided by the Andolan about manual scavengers who remove fresh faeces “with bare hands, brooms or metal scrapers”.  (The Calcutta Telegraph)

A teenager in Pennslyvania had her sweet 16 ruined when a plane flying above them dumped faeces all over her party.  (The Sydney Morning Herald)

When he fed the beetles with coffee beans and analysed their faeces for traces of caffeine, he couldn’t find any. (National Geographic)

A West Virginia mother who admitted to deliberately injecting her sick son’s IV bag with feces at a Cincinnati hospital wept as she was sentenced to just six years in prison on Wednesday. (People Magazine)

After carrying out an elaborate massacre inside a Colorado movie theater, James Holmes was seen smearing feces on himself, licking walls and eating paper, a nurse has testified. (The New York Daily News)

One brother told investigators his sibling retrieved the dog feces and started throwing it all over the other brother’s car. (The Detroit Free Press)

Scientists recently discovered why that is: Fecal bacteria live longer in the sand than in the water, according to a study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. (The Boston Globe)