114 YEAST 



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the scum and lees. These are called, in Low 

 German, " gascht " and " gischt " ; in Anglo-Saxon, 

 "gest," "gist," and "yst," whence our "yeast." 

 Again, in Low German and in Anglo-Saxon there 

 is another name for yeast, having the form " barm," 

 or "beorm"; and, in the Midland Counties, 

 " barm " is the name by which yeast is still best 

 known. In High German, there is a third name 

 for yeast, " hefe," which is not represented in 

 English, so far as I know. 



All these words are said by philologers to be 

 derived from roots expressive of the intestine 

 motion of a fermenting substance. Thus " hefe " 

 is derived from " heben," to raise ; " barm " from 

 " beren " or " baren," to bear up ; " yeast," " yst," 

 and " gist," have all to do with seething and foam, 

 with " yeasty " waves, and " gusty " breezes. 



The same reference to the swelling up of the 

 fermenting substance is seen in the Gallo-Latin 

 terms " levure " and " leaven." 



It is highly creditable to the ingenuity of our 

 ancestors that the peculiar property of fermented 

 liquids, in virtue of which they " make glad the 

 heart of man," seems to have been known in the 

 remotest periods of which we have any record. 

 All savages take to alcoholic fluids as if they 

 were to the manner born. Our Vedic forefathers 

 intoxicated themselves with the juice of the 

 " soma " ; Noah, by a not unnatural reaction 

 against a superfluity of water, appears to have 



