English
fomes
Fomes comes from Latin fōmes ‘fomite’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- ‘to burn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰegʷʰ-‘to burn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōmes‘fomite’
- Englishearliest quotation 1658fomes
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰegʷʰ-‘to burn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōmes‘fomite’
- Englishearliest quotation 1658fomes
Earliest quotation: 1658, John Owen, Of Temptation: “Naturall tempers... prove a great Fomes of sinne.”
The story
Gradually supplanted in use by fomite, a mistaken backformation of its plural form fomites, from Latin fōmitēs.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- ‘to burn’
day, dear, dawn, fever, darling, daw, febrile, foment, 19 more
Today it means
noun Morbid matter created by a disease.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- / fomes