ferment 
which convert starch into a soluble modification or into 
sugar ; pepsin, which dissolves ir<itei<is, forming peptones ; 
emulsin, which resolves amygdalin into oil of bitter al- 
monds, prussic acid, and dextrose. 
Use this ferment 
For musty brede, whom this wol comlyment. 
Pa.lla.dius, Husbomlrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 205. 
3. Figuratively, commotion; heat; tumult; 
agitation: as, to put the passions in & ferment. 
The nation is in too high a ferment for me to expect 
either fair war, or even so much as fair quarter, from a 
reader of the opposite party. 
Dryden, Pref. to Hind and Panther. 
There was a ferment in the minds of men, a vague crav- 
ing for something new. Macaulay, Moore's Byron. 
The lowest population of the great cities, from Balti- 
more to Chicago, rose in ferment and mischief. 
G. S. Merriam, 8. Bowles, II. 426. 
Acetic ferment. See acetic. Fibrin ferment. See 
fibrin. Universal ferment, in alchemy, a supposed 
chemical substance of such a nature that, applied to any 
animal, vegetable, or mineral, it improves the latter, so as 
to make it the most perfect thing of its kind. 
ferment (fer-menf), v. [= F. fermenter = Sp. 
Pg. fermentar = It. fermentare, < "L. fermentare, 
cause to rise or ferment, pass, rise or ferment, 
< fermentum, a ferment, yeast: see ferinen t, n.~] 
1. trans. If. To cause to boil gently; cause 
ebullition in. 2. To cause fermentation in. 
One, whose spirit was fermented with the leaven of the 
Pharisees. Stillinojleet, Sermons, I. iv. 
3. Figuratively, to set in agitation ; excite ; 
arouse. 
Ye vigorous swains ! while youth ferments your blood 
And purer spirits swell the sprightly flood, 
Now range the hills, the gameful woods beset, 
Wind the shrill horn, or spread the waving net. 
Pope, Windsor Forest, 1. 93. 
Fermentlng-vat, in brewing, a tun or tank which holds 
the wort during the fermentation caused by the addition 
of the yeast. 
II. intrans. 1. To undergo fermentation. 
If wine or cider do ferment twice, it will he harder than 
if it had fermented but once. 
Neile, Cider, quoted in Evelyn's Pomona. 
2. Figuratively, to be in agitation ; be excited, 
as by violent emotions or passions, or great 
problems. 
There is a War, questionless a fermenting against the 
Protestants. llowell, Letters, I. ii. 24. 
My griefs not only pain me 
As a lingering disease, 
But, finding no redress, ferment and rage. 
Jfitton, S. A., 1. 619. 
fermentability (fer-men-ta-bil'i-ti), . [< fer- 
mentable: see-bility.] Capability of being fer- 
mented. 
Newman, it would seem, was unwilling to admit of the 
fermentability of milk. 
A. Hunter, Georgical Essays, i. 197. 
fermentable (fer-men'ta-bl), a. [< ferment + 
-able.} Capable of fermentation : thus, cider, 
beer of all kinds, wine, and other vegetable 
liquors a.re fermentable. Also fermentible. 
fermentalt (fer-men'tal), a. [< ferment + -a?.] 
Having power to effect fermentation. 
That, containing little salt or spirit, they [cucumbers] 
may also debilitate the vital acidity and fennental faculty 
of the stomack, we readily concede. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 7. 
Fermentarian (fer-men-ta'ri-an), n. [< ferment 
+ -arian.'] A term of reproach applied in the 
ecclesiastical controversies of the eleventh 
century to one who used leavened or ferment- 
ed bread in the eucharist. See Azymite and 
Prozemite. 
fermentatet (fer-men'tat), v. t. [< L. fermen- 
tatus, pp. of fermentare, ferment: see ferment, 
i'.] To leaven ; cause fermentation in. 
The largest part of the Lords were fernuntated with an 
anti-episcopal sourness. 
Bp. Hacket, Ahp. Williams, ii. 179. 
fermentation (fer-men-ta'shon), n. [=F. fer- 
mentation = Sp. fermentation = Pg. fermen- 
tafSo = It. fermentazione, < L. as if *fermen- 
tatio(n-), < fermentare, ferment: see ferment.'] 
It. A gentle boiling or ebullition. 2. A 
decomposition produced in an organic sub- 
stance by the physiological action of a living 
organism or by certain unorganized agents. 
See ferment. Fungi (and especially species of Saccha- 
romyces) and bacteria are the agents of fermentative pro- 
cesses or change*. Fermentation naturally ceases when 
the nutritive elements of the fermented substance are 
exhausted, or a sufficient proportion of a substance (as al- 
cohol) deleterious to the ferment-organism is produced. 
It may be checked or altogether prevented by anything 
which prevents the growth of the organism, as by exclu- 
sion of the germs or spores, by subjection to a temperature 
too high or too low, by the presence of too large a propor- 
tion of sugar or of a substance (called an antiseptic) which 
acts as a poison to the organism. There are various kinds 
of fermentation, each of which is caused by special organ- 
isms. Alcoholic fermentation in saccharine solutions, or 
fermentation in its most restricted sense, may be produced 
2184 
by any of several organisms, including several species of 
Saccharomyces, Mucor, Penicillium, and Aajterrrifl//*. and 
to a slight extent by certain other fungi ; hut the most im- 
portant agent is Saccharoinyces cerevivicK, which produces 
the fermentation of beer. In fermenting wine, several 
species of Saccharoniyceis are found. S. Mycoderma forms 
a mold-like growth on the surface, the so-called fowersof 
wine. Acetous fermentation takes place in liquids which 
have undergone alcoholic fermentation, and is caused by 
Micrococcus (Mycoderma) aceti, the vinegar-plant. The 
alcohol is oxidized, and acetic acid or vinegar is the re- 
sult. This micrococcus takes two forms : the immersed 
or anaerobiotic form exists as a mucilaginous mass called 
the mother of vinegar; the other is the surface or ae'robi- 
otic form, the flowers of vinegar. According to Pasteur, 
the latter only is active in producing fermentation. Lac- 
tic fermentation, or souring of milk, is induced by cer- 
tain bacteria which decompose the sugar of milk and pro- 
duce lactic acid. Viscous fermentation is of two kinds : 
the one is caused by certain bacteria which convert the 
fermenting substance into a slimy mass and produce 
mannite ; the other is caused by Leuconofitoc mtsenteri- 
aides, which brings about the slimy condition, but does 
not produce mannite. The latter occurs in saccharine 
solutions, and is a source of serious loss to sugar-manu- 
facturers on the European continent. The agent in bu- 
tyric fermentation is Bacillus amylobacter, and butyric 
acid is the result. Certain fermentative changes are pro- 
duced in wood by various fungi. Putrefactive fermenta- 
tion, or putrefaction, occurs in animal substances and 
plant products containing a large proportion of nitroge- 
nous matter. The organism which is active in the putre- 
faction of beef is Bacterium termo. The ammoniacal 
fermentation of urine is caused by Micrococcus urece. See 
putrefaction, bacterium, and germ theory, under germ. 
Fermentation is a very general phenomenon. It is life 
without air, or life without free oxygen, or, more gener- 
ally still, it is the result of a chemical process accom- 
plished on a fermentable substance. 
Pasteur, Fermentation (trans.), p. 270. 
3. Figuratively, the state of being in high ac- 
tivity or commotion ; agitation ; excitement, 
as of the intellect or feelings, a society, etc. 
The founders of the English Church wrote and acted in 
an age of violent intellectual fermentation and of constant 
action and reaction. Macaulay. 
A man may be a better scholar than Erasmus, and know 
no more of the chief causes of the present intellectual 
fermentation than Erasmus did. 
Huxley, Science and Culture. 
Amyllc.butyric, etc. , fermentation. See the ad j ectives. 
Benzole fermentation, the change by which hippuric 
acid, either in the body or in urine, takes on a molecule 
of water and is resolved into benzoic acid and glycocoll. 
= Syn. See ebullition. 
fermentative (fer-men'ta-tiv), a. [= F. fer- 
mentatif= Sp. Pg. fermentntico ; as ferment + 
-atice.] 1. Causing or having power to cause 
fermentation. 
He [M. Schiitzenberger] thinks that this power, which 
he terms fermentative energy, may be estimated more cor- 
rectly by the quantity of sugar decomposed by the unit- 
weight of yeast in unit-time. 
Pasteur, Fermentation (trans.), p. 252. 
2. Of the nature of, consisting in, or produced 
by fermentation. 
It is not &fennentatiee process ; for the solution begins 
at the surface, and proceeds towards the centre, contrary 
to the order in which fermentation acts and spreads. 
Paley, Nat. Theol., x. 
Also fermen tire. 
fermentativeness (fer-men'ta-tiv-nes), n. The 
quality of being fermentative, 
fermentible (fer-men'ti-bl), a. [< ferment + 
-ible; better fermentable.] See fermentable. 
fermentive (fer-men'tiv), a. [(.ferment + -ive.] 
Same as fermentative. 
fermor 
iii sm for closing the bore or chamber of abreech- 
loading small-arm or cannon ; a breech-closing 
apparatus. The Krupp fermeture consists of a cylin- 
droprismatic wedge furnished with a limadwdl ring to 
serve as a gas-check. This wedge slides transversely in 
Krupp Fermeture with Broadwell King. 
Fig. i. Horizontal section of gun. Fig. a. Transverse section of 
gun and rear elevation of wedge. -/,-/, Body of gun ; A. bore ; ( , 
cylindroprismatic wedge : D, bearing-plate ; , Broadwell ring ; /.. 
loading-hole ; y, vent ; ., locking-screw. 
a mortise in the steel breech-piece, and in the large cali- 
bers it is moved in and out by a translating screw on one 
side. The block is locked in position by a second screw 
having a part of its thread cut away BO that a partial 
turn causes it to engage or disengage in the breech of the 
gun. The French or interrupted-screw fermeture is a 
steel screw with its exterior divided into sextants or arcs 
of 60" each. The 
screw - threads 
are removed 
from the alter- 
nate arcs, which 
thus present a 
plain cylindrical 
surface. The in- 
terior surface of 
the breech of the 
gun is similarly 
formed with al- 
ternate blank 
and . threaded 
sectors. In clos- 
ing, the thread- 
ed sectors on 
the block are 
brought oppo- 
site the blanks in 
the breech, and 
the block is in- 
serted by turn- 
ing a translat- 
ing screw ; then 
one sixth of a 
turn of the block 
to the right en- 
gagesthethreads 
on the block 
, , reec-screw ; , , musroom-eaa an with those in 
pindle ; />,/>," pad " or asbestos ring ; a. a. * y,., l, V pp,,h nnH 
' ur eecn an 
French or Interrupted-Screw Fermeture. 
Fi(f. i. Section of breech-block. Fig- s. Ele- 
vation of breech-block. A, A. body of gun; 
S, B, breech-screw ; C, C, m ush room -heaa and with 
The introduction into the blood of substances which 
shall prevent fermentive, deflbrinizing, or destructive pro- 
cesses. Pop. Sci. Mo., XIII. 381. 
ferment-oil (fer'ment-oil), n. An odorous com- 
pound produced during the fermentation of 
bruised vegetables or of their extracted juice, 
ferment-organism (fer'ment-6r*gan-izm), n. 
An organism which produces fermentation ; a 
ferment. 
ferment-secretion (fer'ment-se-kre''shon), n. 
The production of an unorganized ferment, 
fermereret, [ME., < fermery, q. v.] The of- 
ficer in a religious house who had the care of 
the infirmary. 
So did our sextein and our fennerere, 
That han ben trewe freres fifty yere. 
Chaucer, Summoner's Tale, 1. 151. 
fermeryt, fermaryt, . [Also flrmary ; ME./er- 
mery, fermerie, fermorie, < OF. fermerie, abbr. 
of enfermerie, an infirmary : see infirmary.'] An 
infirmary; a room or building set apart for the 
use of the sick. 
Rewfulnes salle make the fennorye ; Devocione salle 
make the celere : Meditacion salle make the gernere. 
MS. Lincoln, A. i. 17, f. 272. (llallitnll.) 
If 36 fare so in O owre fermorie ferly me thinketh, 
But chest be there charite shulde be and songe childern 
dorste pleyne ! Piers Plowman (B), xiii. 108. 
fermeture (f er'me-tur), n. [F. (=It.fermatura), 
a fastening, shutting, stop, </ener, shut, fasten, 
< ii.Jirmare, make fast: see firm, v.] A mecha- 
,, . . 
brass or copper rings ; b, t, tin or zinc plates; , 
F, vent and upper^ent bushings. closes the cham- 
ber. The De 
Bange or Freire gas-check is generally used with this 
system of fermeture. The fermeture of the Hotchkiss 
mountain-gun consists of a simple prismatic wedge, with 
a locking screw engaging in a recess in the breech. A 
handle on one side serves to close and draw out the block, 
and to lock it. This form of block has merely to support 
the head of the cartridge-case, which acts as its own gas- 
check. The fermetures for small-arms present a great 
variety of combinations and movements. The most im- 
portant are the rotating breech-block, as in the United 
States Springfield and Martini-Henry rifles ; the sliding 
breech-block, as in the Sharps and Winchester rifles ; and 
the sliding bolt-, as in the Hotchkiss and Chaffee-Reece 
rifles. In all modern small-arms the metallic cartridge- 
case serves as a gas-check or obturator. See r/ait-check, in- 
terrupted screw (under screw), obturator, and cut under 
fermiliett (fer'mi-let), . [< OF. fermillet, 
fermoillet, dim. offermeil,fermail,fermal, etc., 
a clasp: see fermail.] A buckle or clasp. 
Those stones were sustained or stayed by buckles and 
firmilleta of gold for more firmness. 
Donne, Hist. Septuagint, p. 49. 
fermisont, n. [ME., also fermysoun, fermysone ; 
< AF. fermeyson, close-time, OF. fermoison, a 
prison, < ML. firmatio(n-), a strengthening, con- 
firmation, grant, warrant, assurance, a strong- 
hold, close-time, < ~L.firmare, make strong, con- 
firm : see firm, v.~] 1 . In old Eng. law, the time 
within which it was forbidden to kill male deer; 
close-time for deer. 
The fre lorde hade defende in fermysoun tyme, 
That ther schulde no uion rnene to the male dere. 
Sir Gatmyne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), L 1156. 
2. Deer; venison. 
fflesch fluriste of fermysone with f rumentee noble 
Ther-to wylde to wale, and wynlyche bryddes. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 180. 
3. A place where deer were kept or allowed to 
range. 
Tyl on a day thay horn dygt into the depe dellus, 
Fellun to the femalus, in forest was fredde, 
Fayre by fermesones, by frythys and felles 
To the wudde thay weyndun. Anturs of Arthur, st. 1. 
fermo (fer'mo), a. [It., < L. firmtis, firm: see 
firm, a.] In music, firm; fast; unchanged. See 
canto fermo. 
fermort, . An obsolete form of farmer. 
