noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/fəˈɹiː.si/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfɔː.ɹəs.i/
General-American:/ˈfɔɹ.əs.i/
rhymes with -iːsi
1
noun
Meaning 1
An association between two organisms in which one (e.g. a mite) travels on the body of another, without being a parasite.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From French phorésie, from Ancient Greek φόρησις (phórēsis, “wearing, garment”), from φορέω (phoréō, “I wear, I bear”) + -σις (-sis, nominal suffix). See -phore.