FOMENT', verb transitive [Latin fomento, from foveo, to warm.] 1. To apply warm lotions to; to bathe with warm medicated liquors, or with flannel dipped in warm water. 2. To cherish with heat; to encourage growth. [Not usual.] 3. To encourage; to abet; to cherish and promote by excitements; in a bad sense; as, to foment ill humors. So we say, to foment troubles or disturbances; to foment intestine broils.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI