Etymologically
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fermentation

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌfɜːmənˈteɪʃən/, /ˌfɜːmɛnˈteɪʃən/[1]
  • US: /ˌfɜɹmənˈteɪʃən/, /ˌfɜɹmɛnˈteɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English fermentacioun,[2][3] borrowed from Late Latin fermentātiō,[4][5][6][7][8] a noun of action formed from fermentātus, the past participle of fermentō (“to leaven, cause to rise or ferment”),[7][8][4][9] from fermentum (“leaven, yeast; a drink made of fermented barley”).[4][10] Etymonline takes fermentum as perhaps a contraction of *fervimentum, from the root of ferveō (“to boil, seethe”),[4] and Klein connects it with barm and fervent.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

In alchemy, any process that makes matter bubble, give off heat and change its properties: in Chaucer's Canon's Yeoman's Tale, "Oure cementyng and fermentacioun".[2][9][4] The OED dates the passage about 1386, the MED about 1395.[9][2]

Semantic evolution

The alchemists' sense lasted until 1612.[9] The modern scientific sense, a process like the action of leaven on dough or on sugary liquids, is recorded from 1601, in Holland's translation of Pliny,[9][7][4] and the word was also used loosely of other bubbling or heating processes until the late 18th century.[9] Johnson (1755) defined it, in the science of his day, as "a slow motion of the intestine particles of a mixt body".[11] The figurative sense of agitation or excitement followed about 1660,[9][5] in the 1650s according to Etymonline.[4] Collins gives zymotic as the related adjective.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1386 – alchemy, a process making matter bubble, heat and change (obsolete by 1612).[9][2]
  • 1601 – the action of leaven or yeast on dough or sugary liquids.[9][7]
  • c. 1660 – figurative, agitation, excitement.[9] Etymonline dates the figurative use to the 1650s.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The chemical breakdown of a substance by yeast, bacteria or other microorganisms, especially the anaerobic conversion of sugar into alcohol: the fermentation of apple juice into cider.[12][7][5]
  2. A change in organic matter brought about by enzymes, yielding alcohols, acids and carbon dioxide.[7]
  3. A state of agitation or excitement; unrest.[9][5]
  4. (obsolete, 1386–1612) In alchemy, a process that makes matter bubble, heat and change its properties.[9][2]

Word family

  • nonfermentation
  • prefermentation
  • ferment
  • fervent
  • barm

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins