ferment

English

Etymology

From Middle French ferment, from Latin fermentare (“to leaven, ferment”), from fermentum (“substance causing fermentation”), from fervere (“to boil, seethe”). See also fervent.

Pronunciation

• (verb):
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fəˈmɛnt/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /fɚˈmɛnt/
• (noun):
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɜːmɛnt/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɝmɛnt/

Verb

ferment (third-person singular simple present ferments, present participle fermenting, simple past and past participle fermented)

1. To react, using fermentation; especially to produce alcohol by aging or by allowing yeast to act on sugars; to brew.
2. To stir up, agitate, cause unrest or excitement in.
   • 1713, Alexander Pope, Windsor Forest:

     Ye vigorous swains! while youth ferments your blood.

   • 1726, James Thomson, “Winter”, in The Seasons, London: Printed for A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, OCLC 642619686, lines 10–14, page 165:

     Pleas'd have I wander'd thro' your rough domain; / Trod the pure virgin-ſnows, myſelf as pure; / Heard the winds roar, and the big torrent burſt; / Or ſeen the deep fermenting tempeſt brew'd, / In the grim evening ſky.

Translations

to react using fermentation

• Arabic: خَمَرَ‎ (ar) (ḵamara)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: ферменти́рам (bg) (fermentíram), кипя (bg) (kipja)
• Catalan: fermentar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 發酵 (zh), 发酵 (zh) (fājiào)

• Czech: kvasit (cs)
• Danish: gære, fermentere
• Dutch: gisten (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: käärima
• Finnish: käyttää (fi), panna käymään
• Galician: fermentar (gl), cocer (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: gären (de)
• Greek: αναβράζω (el) (anavrázo), ζυμώνω (el) (zymóno)
• Hungarian: erjeszt (hu)
• Icelandic: gerja
• Irish: coip
• Italian: fermentare (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can

• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: rūgt (lv), raudzēt, rudzināt
• Lü: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: врие (vrie), се кваси (se kvasi), ферменти́ра (fermentíra)
• Maori: māhī, toroī, rēwena, whakamoī
• Mongolian: хөөх (mn) (hööh), исэх (mn) (iseh)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fermentere, gjære

• Portuguese: fermentar (pt)
• Quechua: p'uchquy
• Romanian: fermenta (ro), dospi (ro)
• Russian: броди́ть (ru) (brodítʹ) (intransitive), ферменти́ровать (ru) (fermentírovatʹ), ква́сить (ru) (kvásitʹ) (transitive)
• Spanish: fermentar (es)
• Swedish: jäsa (sv), fermentera (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: färmäntön (vo)
• Welsh: eplesu (cy)

to cause unrest

• Dutch: stoken (nl)
• Finnish: lietsoa (fi), nostattaa (fi), kuohuttaa, hämmentää (fi)
• German: stören (de), anstacheln (de)

• Hebrew: להציט‎, להתסיס‎
• Italian: fermentare (it)
• Russian: волнова́ть (ru) (volnovátʹ), возбужда́ть (ru) (vozbuždátʹ)

Noun

ferment (plural ferments)

1. Something, such as a yeast or barm, that causes fermentation.
2. A state of agitation or of turbulent change.
   • (Can we date this quote by Rogers and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Subdue and cool the ferment of desire.

   • (Can we date this quote by Walpole and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     The nation is in a ferment.

   • 1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, hardback edition, page 104

     Clad in a Persian-Renaissance gown and a widow's tiara of white batiste, Mrs Thoroughfare, in all the ferment of a Marriage-Christening, left her chamber on vapoury autumn day and descending a few stairs, and climbing a few others, knocked a trifle brusquely at her son's wife's door.

3. A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a fluid; fermentation.
   • (Can we date this quote by Thomson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Down to the lowest lees the ferment ran.

4. A catalyst.

Translations

substance causing fermentation

• Bulgarian: ферме́нт (bg) m (fermént), мая (bg) f (maja)
• Catalan: ferment (ca) m
• Dutch: gist (nl)
• Finnish: hapate (fi), fermentti
• Galician: fermento (gl) m
• German: Gärmittel

• Latin: fermentum n
• Macedonian: маја f (maja), ферме́нт m (fermént)
• Portuguese: fermento (pt) m
• Romanian: ferment (ro) m, enzimă (ro) f
• Russian: ферме́нт (ru) m (fermént)
• Swedish: jäsningsämne n, jäsämne n

state of agitation

• Bulgarian: ферментация f (fermentacija), кипене (bg) n (kipene)
• Catalan: ferment (ca) m
• Finnish: kuohunta (fi), käymistila

• Macedonian: превирање n (previranje)
• Russian: возбужде́ние (ru) n (vozbuždénije), волне́ние (ru) n (volnénije)
• Welsh: achor m

gentle internal movement

• Finnish: käymistila, käyminen (fi)

catalyst

• Finnish: katalyytti (fi)

See also

• foment

References

• “ferment” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2020.
• ferment in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Fermentation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• fretmen

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French

Verb

ferment

1. third-person plural present indicative of fermer
2. third-person plural present subjunctive of fermer