fomentation
/ˌfoʊmənˈteɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 0.00 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The act of fomenting; the application of warm, soft, medicinal substances, as for the purpose of easing pain by relaxing the skin, or of discussing (dispersing) tumours.
noun
Example Sentences
- "Twenty leeches were ordered to be applied round the nose every two days; frequent emollient fomentations; the local vapour bath; general bathing; stimulating pedilavia; a strict regimen; vegetables, milk, white meats; demulcent or acidulated drinks; avoidance of exposure to the sun or to cold air; flannel waistcoat and trousers. This treatment, being strictly observed for two months, caused all the inflammatory symptoms to disappear, […]"
- "We have already spoken of the great utility of hot fomentation to the stomach and bowels, as a means of relieving intense suffering in any internal organ of the body, or in the extremities."
- "Keeping bhūjra patra or banana leaf above the fourfold cloth is essential. Apart from their attributes to help in this chemical process, they prevent the fall of mercury from the paste through the cloth into the bottom of the pot of dolā yantra. If during fomentation mercury penetrates through the layer of paste then it will remain above the layer of leaf placed over the cloth, thus permitting the intended chemical action to continue."
- "[…] I purged him with our Quintaeſſencia Solutiuo, eight dayes together, that being done I made him a fomentation, that cauſed him to ſweate well, and to ſpitte aboundaunce, […]"
- "If too much milke be the cauſe, then the Nurſe ſhall not give the childe ſucke ſo often, nor in ſuch plenty: If it proceed from wind, and that doe cauſe the childe to be thus troubled, it ſhall be diſcuſſed with Fomentations applied to the belly and navell; and with Carminative Cliſters, which ſhall bee given him, […]"
- "I then applied a Fomentation to the Part, which highly anſwered the Intention; and after three or four Times dreſſing, the Wound began to diſcharge a thick Pus or Matter, […]"
Etymology
From Middle English fōmentāciǒun (“act of fomenting; lotion or poultice applied to a diseased part of the body”), from Late Latin fōmentātiō, fōmentātiōnem, from fōmentāre (from fōmentum (“lotion; compress, poultice; warm application; fomentation”), from foveō (“to warm, keep warm; to cherish, nurture; to bathe, foment”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn; warm, hot”)) + -ātiō, -ātiōnem (suffix forming a noun relating to some action or the result of an action); analysable as foment + -ation.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌfoʊmənˈteɪʃən/
- British English: /fəʊmənˈteɪʃ(ə)n/