fossa
pit
noun FOS-sah Rare
Origin: From Latin fossa (ditch, pit), from fodere (to dig).
Also means
grave
Usage Note
Fossa is feminine with a regular plural fosse. It ranges from a ditch or trench (fossa comune = mass grave) to anatomical hollows (fossa nasale = nasal cavity) and the oceanic fossa (trench: fossa delle Marianne). The idiom avere un piede nella fossa (to have one foot in the grave) mirrors the English expression.
Examples
"I soldati scavarono una fossa profonda."
Natural Translation
The soldiers dug a deep pit.

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