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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Foment \Fo*ment"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fomented; p. pr. & vb. n. Fomenting.] [F. fomenter, fr. L. fomentare, fr. fomentum (for fovimentum) a warm application or lotion, fr. fovere to warm or keep warm; perh. akin to Gr. ? to roast, and E. bake.] 1. To apply a warm lotion to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge wet with warm water or medicated liquid. [1913 Webster] 2. To cherish with heat; to foster. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Which these soft fires . . . foment and warm. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 3. To nurse to life or activity; to cherish and promote by excitements; to encourage; to abet; to instigate; -- used often in a bad sense; as, to foment ill humors. --Locke. [1913 Webster] But quench the choler you foment in vain. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] Exciting and fomenting a religious rebellion. --Southey. [1913 Webster]