Noah Webster
Fungus
FUN'GUS, noun [Latin]
1. A mushroom, vulgarly called a toadstool. The Fungi constitute an order of plants of a peculiar organization and manner of growth. The word is also applied to excrescences on plants.
2. A spungy excrescence in animal bodies as proud flesh formed in wounds.
The term is particularly applied to any morbid excrescence, whether in wounds or arising spontaneously.