Where does “ferment” come from?
ferment (Middle French) comes from Latin fermentāre, from Latin fermentum, from Latin ferveō, from Proto-Italic ferweō, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrewh₁-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰer- — to bear, carry.
Ancestry of “ferment”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | fermentāre | — |
| 2 | Latin | fermentum | fermentation, leavening; yeast, ferment; anger,... |
| 3 | Latin | ferveō | — |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | ferweō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrewh₁- | to boil; to brew |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰer- | to bear, carry |
Words derived from “ferment”