fossa

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

fossa
    n 1: a concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical
         depression) [syn: {pit}, {fossa}]
    2: monotypic genus of Madagascar civets closely related to palm
       civets [syn: {Fossa}, {genus Fossa}]
    3: largest carnivore of Madagascar; intermediate in some
       respects between cats and civets [syn: {fossa}, {fossa cat},
       {Cryptoprocta ferox}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

fossa \fos"sa\, n.; pl. {foss[ae]}. [L., a ditch. See {Fosse}.]
   (Anat.)
   A pit, groove, cavity, or depression, of greater or less
   depth; as, the temporal fossa on the side of the skull; the
   nasal foss[ae] containing the nostrils in most birds.
   [1913 Webster]

from Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

FOSSA, Eng. law. A ditch full of water, where formerly women who had 
committed a felony were drowned; the grave. Cowel, Int.

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