Fomentation
(Fo`men*ta"tion) n. [. fomentatio: cf. F. fomentation.]

1. (Med.) (a) The act of fomenting; the application of warm, soft, medicinal substances, as for the purpose of easing pain, by
relaxing the skin, or of discussing tumors. (b) The lotion applied to a diseased part.

2. Excitation; instigation; encouragement.


I wonder if the second of the widely disparate definitions may not have arisen
by confusion with "fermentation".

Formorian - a member of Celtic legendary sea robbers.

Forficiform - shaped like a pair of scissors.
Forfex
(||For"fex) n. [L.] A pair of shears. Pope.
147 The peer now spreads the glitt'ring forfex wide,
148 T' inclose the lock; now joins it, to divide.
149 Ev'n then, before the fatal engine clos'd,
150 A wretched Sylph too fondly interpos'd;
151 Fate urg'd the shears, and cut the Sylph in twain,

Forficate
(For"fi*cate) a. [L. forfex, forficis, shears.] (Zoöl.) Deeply forked, as the tail of certain birds.

Forficula
(||For*fic"u*la) n. [L., small shears, scissors, dim. of forfex shears.] (Zoöl.) A genus of insects including the earwigs. See
Earwig, 1.

other
“To stop a leak at sea. To haul over a leak a sail, a tarpaulin,or a bag made
of old canvas and filled with pulled rope yarns.
(Obsolete.) Also called fodder.

The francolin belongs to the pheasant family.
It is almost 50 cm long and weighs 2 kilos. The
gaudy colours of the male feathers vary from
brown to red with white stripes. The females'
one are brown with a yellow spot on the neck.
Both have a small head and a stocky body and
for this reason they prefer to walk on the grass
rather than fly. They live in small groups and
they pick up their feed from the ground as
domestic poultry does. During the mating
season the group divides in pairs and nest in
the ground. The female hatches 5-6 eggs and
the chicks are breeded by both adults.

In reply to:

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of discussing tumors.

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OK, wwh. This is hilarious medical talk to the non-medical person. You foment tumors and then you discuss them. Ha! Now, let us in on what it really means in medical kingdom to discuss tumors.

I have this mental image of modern doctors fomenting a tumor--and then putting on their witch doctor headresses, doing a dance around the tumor, and then discussing the tumor in order to relieve the patient:

Doctor A: "It looks like an inconspicucous little tumor."

Doctor B: "Nice shade of red."

Doctor A: "Fuschia, actually."

Doctor B: "No, not quite fuschia. I think it's magenta."

Doctor A: "Too bad it won't stay around for long. There's something about its shape that's rather appealing."

Doctor B: "What would you call that shape...an obelisk?"

Doctor A: "Not quite...more an widened pyramid, don't you think?"


And so on till the discussed tumor disappeared.

So, wwh, please tell us (me) what it really means to discuss a tumor!

Dear WW: guess what the first meaning of "discuss" is in 1913 Webster?
Discuss (Page: 423)

Dis*cuss" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discussed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Discussing.] [L. discussus, p. p. of discutere to
strike asunder (hence came the sense to separate mentally, distinguish); dis- + quatere to shake, strike. See Quash.]

1. To break to pieces; to shatter. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

2. To break up; to disperse; to scatter; to dissipate; to drive away; -- said especially of tumors.

Many arts were used to discuss the beginnings of new affection. Sir H. Wotton.

A pomade . . . of virtue to discuss pimples. Rambler.

decussate

SYLLABICATION:
de·cus·sate
PRONUNCIATION:
AUDIO: d-kst, dk-st KEY
TRANSITIVE &
INTRANSITIVE
VERB:
Inflected forms: de·cus·sat·ed, de·cus·sat·ing,
de·cus·sates
To cross or become crossed so as to form an X; intersect.
ADJECTIVE:
1. Intersected or crossed in the form of an X.
2. Botany Arranged on a stem in opposite pairs at right
angles to those above or below, resulting in four vertical
rows: decussate leaves.
ETYMOLOGY:
Latin decussre, decusst-, from decussis, the number
ten, intersection of two lines (from the Romans' use of X
for the numeral 10), a ten-as coin : decem, ten; see dek
in Appendix I + assis, as (coin).
OTHER FORMS:
de·cussately —ADVERB

Also used in neuroanatomy to describe nervous pathways crossing from left to right, and right to left.

Dr. Bill, do you have more historical background on these Celtic pirates? Or maybe Rubrick? (Before I LIU...legends are always better heard as a good yarn before looking up the dry facts)

For more on yon legends I shall have to search.