noun
( plural fove·ae -vēˌē, -vēˌī)
Etymology: Latin, small pit
: a small depression or pit : fossa: as
a.
[New Latin, from Latin]
: the hollowed leaf base in the quillwort containing a sporangium
b. or fovea cen·tra·lis -ˌsen.ˈtralə̇s, -rāl-, -räl-
[ fovea from New Latin, from Latin; fovea centralis from New Latin, central fovea]
: a small rodless area of the retina affording acute vision — see eye illustration