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foment (foh-MENT) - v., to arouse, incite, or encourage; (med.) to apply warm water or a poultice to.
It is usually something negative being incited or encouraged, such as unrest, a riot, or a rebellion. In case you, like me, have always wondered what exactly a poultice is, it's a soft, moist mass, usually wrapped in cloth and warmed, that is applied topically to the body, such as to an injury. So a healing sense and a decidedly non-healing sense. Dates to the 14th century in the Middle English form fomenten, from Old French fomenter, from Late Latin fōmentāre, from Latin fōmentum, lotion, from fovēre, warm/heat -- all those in the medicinal sense, with the current metaphoric extensions appearing in English only in the 17th century.
---L.
It is usually something negative being incited or encouraged, such as unrest, a riot, or a rebellion. In case you, like me, have always wondered what exactly a poultice is, it's a soft, moist mass, usually wrapped in cloth and warmed, that is applied topically to the body, such as to an injury. So a healing sense and a decidedly non-healing sense. Dates to the 14th century in the Middle English form fomenten, from Old French fomenter, from Late Latin fōmentāre, from Latin fōmentum, lotion, from fovēre, warm/heat -- all those in the medicinal sense, with the current metaphoric extensions appearing in English only in the 17th century.
---L.
