ferment Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a state of agitation or turbulent change or development
    unrest; tempestuousness; fermentation; agitation.
    • the political ferment produced new leadership
    • social unrest
  2. noun a substance capable of bringing about fermentation
  3. noun a process in which an agent causes an organic substance to break down into simpler substances; especially, the anaerobic breakdown of sugar into alcohol
    zymolysis; fermenting; zymosis; fermentation.
  4. verb be in an agitated or excited state
    • The Middle East is fermenting
    • Her mind ferments
  5. verb work up into agitation or excitement
    • Islam is fermenting Africa
  6. verb cause to undergo fermentation
    work.
    • We ferment the grapes for a very long time to achieve high alcohol content
    • The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats
  7. verb go sour or spoil
    turn; sour; work.
    • The milk has soured
    • The wine worked
    • The cream has turned--we have to throw it out

WordNet

Fer"ment noun
Etymology
L. fermentum ferment (in senses 1 & 2), perh. for fervimentum, fr. fervere to be boiling hot, boil, ferment: cf. F. ferment. Cf. 1st Barm, Fervent.
Definitions
  1. That which causes fermentation, as yeast, barm, or fermenting beer. ✍ Ferments are of two kinds: (a) Formed or organized ferments. (b) Unorganized or structureless ferments. The latter are also called soluble ∨ chemical ferments, and enzymes. Ferments of the first class are as a rule simple microscopic vegetable organisms, and the fermentations which they engender are due to their growth and development; as, the acetic ferment, the butyric ferment, etc. See Fermentation. Ferments of the second class, on the other hand, are chemical substances, as a rule soluble in glycerin and precipitated by alcohol. In action they are catalytic and, mainly, hydrolytic. Good examples are pepsin of the dastric juice, ptyalin of the salvia, and disease of malt. by 1960 the term "ferment" to mean "enzyme" fell out of use. Enzymes are now known to be globular proteins, capable of catalyzing a wide variety of chemical reactions, not merely hydrolytic. The full set of enzymes causing production of ethyl alcohol from sugar has been identified and individually purified and studied. See enzyme
  2. Intestine motion; heat; tumult; agitation.
    Subdue and cool the ferment of desire. Rogers.
    the nation is in a ferment. Walpole.
  3. A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a fluid; fermentation. R.
    Down to the lowest lees the ferment ran. Thomson.
    Ure.
Fer*ment" transitive verb
Etymology
L. fermentare, fermentatum: cf. F. fermenter. See Ferment, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Fermented; present participle & verbal noun Fermenting
Definitions
  1. To cause ferment of fermentation in; to set in motion; to excite internal emotion in; to heat.
    Ye vigorous swains! while youth ferments your blood. Pope.
Fer*ment" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To undergo fermentation; to be in motion, or to be excited into sensible internal motion, as the constituent oarticles of an animal or vegetable fluid; to work; to effervesce.
  2. To be agitated or excited by violent emotions.
    But finding no redress, ferment an rage. Milton.
    The intellect of the age was a fermenting intellect. De Quincey.

Webster 1913