to foment
- verb
- /foʊˈmɛnt/
- Archaic
- To relieve her pain, the doctor advised her to foment her sore muscles with warm water and a soothing cream.
Examples
-
After the fall, she was instructed to foment her injured ankle to reduce swelling and promote healing.
-
"To ease him of his pain, I wished him to foment his ear often with woman's milk and oil of roses warm, and drop it into his ear."
Academic text (1994) -
He decided to foment his aching joints in warm herbal oil for a few minutes every night.
Synonyms
To cover a sore with a warm soft mass to reduce pain and swelling
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Etymology
Foment comes from the old word fomentum meaning 'warm dressing' and fovere meaning 'to warm', because people used warm cloths to help a wound or pain. That is why the rare medical use of foment means to bathe a part of the body with warm water or a warm cloth.