Etymology
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foam (n.)

Middle English fom, fome (c. 1300), from Old English fam "foam, saliva froth; sea," from West Germanic *faimo- (source also of Old High German veim, German Feim), from PIE root *(s)poi-mo- "foam, froth" (source also of Sanskrit phenah; Latin pumex "pumice," spuma "foam;" Old Church Slavonic pena "foam;" Lithuanian spainė "a streak of foam"). The plastic variety used in packaging, etc., so called from 1937.

foam (v.)

Old English famgian "to emit foam, to boil," from the source of foam (n.). Sense of "become foamy, to froth" is from late 14c. Transitive sense is from 1725. Related: Foamed; foaming.

Entries linking to foam

foamy (adj.)

Old English faemig "covered with foam;" see foam (n.) + -y (2). Related: Foaminess.

pumice (n.)

"type of volcanic rock having a loose or cellular structure," formerly used to smooth parchment or vellum, c. 1400, pomis, from Anglo-French and Old French pomis (13c.), from Late Latin pomicem (nominative pomex, genitive pumicis), from Oscan *poimex or some other dialectal variant of Latin pumex "pumice." This word is from PIE *(s)poi-mo-, a root with connotations of "foam, froth" (see foam (n.)), perhaps because pumice resembled a sort of fossilized foam.

With a wide variety of forms in Middle English, including pumish, pumey. Old English had pumic-stan. As a verb, "to polish or smooth with pumice," early 15c., from the noun.

updated on January 26, 2018

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Dictionary entries near foam

flyte

flyway

flywheel

fo'c'sle

foal

foam

foamy

fob

focaccia

focal

foci

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