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fomenter

 [foh-ment]   Origin

fo·ment

   [foh-ment]
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; Middle English fomenten < Late Latin fōmentāre, verbal derivative of Latin fōmentum soothing application, poultice, contraction of *fōvimentum, equivalent to fōv(ēre) to keep warm + -i- -i- + -mentum -ment

Related forms
fo·ment·er, noun
un·fo·ment·ed, adjective

Can be confused: ferment, foment.

Synonyms
1. incite, provoke, arouse, inflame, excite, stir up; encourage, stimulate.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
foment (fəˈmɛnt)
 
—vb
1.  to encourage or instigate (trouble, discord, etc); stir up
2.  med to apply heat and moisture to (a part of the body) to relieve pain and inflammation
 
[C15: from Late Latin fōmentāre, from Latin fōmentum a poultice, ultimately from fovēre to foster]
 
usage  Both foment and ferment can be used to talk about stirring up trouble: he was accused of fomenting/fermenting unrest. Only ferment can be used intransitively or as a noun: his anger continued to ferment (not foment); rural areas were unaffected by the ferment in the cities
 
fomentation
 
—n
 
fo'menter
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

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" (1620s) was in the French. Related: Fomented; fomenting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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