Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fomenting” come from?

Fomenting comes from Old English -ing (verbal noun suffix) applied to a verb derived from Latin fomentum (poultice, warm application), from Latin fovere (to warm, cherish).

fomenting (English): present participle of foment

Definitions

  1. present participle of foment

Ancestry of “fomenting”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfomentTo incite or cause troublesome acts; to...
2Middle Englishfomenten—
3Old Frenchfomenter—
4Late Latinfomentare—
5Latinfōmentum—
6Latinfoverethird-person plural perfect active indicative of...
7LatinfoveoI warm, keep warm; I nurture, cherish, foster; I...
8Proto-Italicfoɣʷeōto warm, to make warm, to keep warm
9Proto-Italicθoɣʷejō—
10Proto-Indo-Europeandʰogʷʰ-éye-ti—
11Proto-Indo-Europeandʰegʷʰ-to burn; warm, hot
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰegʷʰ- →