Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
foment - 7 dictionary results

fo⋅ment

  [foh-ment]
Use foment in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble; to foment discontent.
2. to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments, etc., to (the surface of the body).
Origin:
1350–1400; ME fomenten < LL fōmentāre, v. deriv. of L fōmentum soothing application, poultice, contr. of *fōvimentum, equiv. to fōv(ēre) to keep warm + -i- -i- + -mentum -ment

Related forms:
fo⋅ment⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. incite, provoke, arouse, inflame, excite, stir up; encourage, stimulate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To foment
fo·ment   (fō-měnt')   
tr.v.   fo·ment·ed, fo·ment·ing, fo·ments
  1. To promote the growth of; incite.
  2. To treat (the skin, for example) by fomentation.

[Middle English fomenten, to apply warm liquids to the skin, from Old French fomenter, from Late Latin fōmentāre, from Latin fōmentum, poultice, from fovēre, to warm; see dhegwh- in Indo-European roots.]
fo·ment'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Foment

Fo*ment"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fomented; p. pr. & vb. n. Fomenting.] [F. fomenter, fr. L. fomentare, fr. fomentum (for fovimentum) a warm application or lotion, fr. fovere to warm or keep warm; perh. akin to Gr. ? to roast, and E. bake.]

1. To apply a warm lotion to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge wet with warm water or medicated liquid.

2. To cherish with heat; to foster. [Obs.]

Which these soft fires . . . foment and warm. --Milton.

3. To nurse to life or activity; to cherish and promote by excitements; to encourage; to abet; to instigate; -- used often in a bad sense; as, to foment ill humors. --Locke.

But quench the choler you foment in vain. --Dryden.

Exciting and fomenting a religious rebellion. --Southey.

Foment

Fo"ment\, n. 1. Fomentation.

2. State of excitation; -- perh. confused with ferment.

He came in no conciliatory mood, and the foment was kept up. --Julian Ralph.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

foment 
c.1400 (implied in fomentation), from M.Fr. fomenter, from L.L. fomentare, from L. fomentum "warm application, poultice," from fovere "to warm, cherish, encourage." Extended sense of "stimulate, instigate" (1622) was in the Fr.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: 1fo·ment
Pronunciation: 'fO-"ment
Function: noun
: FOMENTATION

Main Entry: 2fo·ment
Pronunciation: fO-'ment
Function: transitive verb
: to treat with moist heat (as for easing pain)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see foment on Thesaurus | Reference