Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Fomes
Fo′mes (fō′mēz), n.; pl. Fomites (fŏm′ĭ·tēz). [L. fomes, -itis, touch-wood, tinder.] (Med.) Any substance supposed to be capable of absorbing, retaining, and transporting contagious or infectious germs; as, woolen clothes are said to be active fomites.