▪ I. † ˈfumet1 Obs. or arch.
Chiefly pl. Also 5 pl. fumes, 7 pl. fumers, 6–9 fewmet.
[app. a. AF. *fumets (*fumez) pl., f. fumer (repr. L. fumāre) to dung. The continental Fr. word in this sense was fumées, of parallel formation.]
The excrement (of a deer). rare in sing.
| 14.. Maystre of the Game MS. Bodl. 546 (Halliw.) And ȝif men speke and aske hym of the fumes, he shal clepe fumes of an hert. 1576 Turberv. Venerie 66 There is difference betweene the fewmet of the morning and that of the evenyng. 1598 [see fumishing]. 1637 B. Jonson Sad Sheph. i. ii, By his..fewmets, he doth promise sport. 1668 Davenant Rivals iv, That [Game] both his Slote and Fumers do proclaim. 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece ii. i. 290 Take up the Fewmet, as well made in the Evening Relief, as in the Morning. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) I. ii. v. 324 The stag's tail is called the single; his excrement the fumet. 1871 Tennyson Last Tourn. 371 The..fewmets of a deer. |
▪ II. fumet2, fuˈmette
(fymɛ, -ɛt)
[a. F. fumet, f. fumer to fume.]
The scent or smell of game when high; game flavour. Also, a concentrated fish stock used for flavouring.
| 1723 Swift Stella at Wood Park 14 A haunch of ven'son made her sweat, Unless it had the right fumette. 1753 Smollett Ct. Fathom (1784) 64/1 A roasted leveret very strong of the fumet. 1755 Johnson, Fumette, a word introduced by cooks, and the pupils of cooks, for the stink of meat. 1786 Mackenzie Lounger No. 89 ¶11 [He] gave the venison a reprieve to a certain distant day, when it should acquire the exact proper fumet for the palate of a connoisseur. 1877 E. S. Dallas Kettner's Bk. of Table 340 Pheasant..requires to be kept till the fumet is fully developed. 1906 Mrs. Beeton Househ. Managem. lxii. 1660 Fumet, the flavour or essence of game, fish..used to impart a rich flavour to certain dishes. 1936 Lucas & Hume Au Petit Cordon Bleu 173 Fish fumet, fish stock. 1939 [see concentrate n. c]. 1965 House & Garden Dec. 84/3 Fumet..is the very highly concentrated stock of, usually, game or fish, used to flavour other dishes or sauces. |
| transf. 1796 Mod. Gulliver's Trav. 109 The rest were cramming every crevice they could find with paper, to exclude the fumette arising from the well-dressed field. |