The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is…

fomite (noun):

an object (such as a dish, doorknob, or article of clothing) that may be contaminated with infectious agents (such as bacteria or viruses) and serve in their transmission

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : Disinfectant on your hands keeps us healthier and fomites no longer foment as much disease. Australian newspaper contributor Peter Goers was likely going for alliteration when he paired up “fomite” and “foment,” a verb meaning “to promote the growth or development of”-but, whether he realized it or not, the words “fomite” and “foment” are also related. “Fomite” is a back-formation of “fomites,” the Latin plural of “fomes,” itself a word for tinder. (Much like tinder is a catalyst of fire, a fomite can kindle disease.) “Fomes” is akin to the Latin verb fovere (“to heat”), an ancestor of “foment.”

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