▪ I. foam, n.
(fəʊm)
Forms: 1 fám, faam, (3 fam), 3–6 fame, 4–8 fome, (5 foome,) 7 foame, 7–9 Sc. faem(e, fame, faim, feim, feame, 6– foam.
[OE. fám str. (? masc. or neut.) = OHG. feim (MHG. veim, Ger. feim) masc.:—WGer. *faimo-:—pre-Teut. *poimo- or *phoimo-. A parallel form with suffix -no- instead of -mo- appears in OSlav. pěna, Skr. phena, foam.
Joh. Schmidt regards the -mo- and -no- forms as divergent representations of an original with -mn- suffix, and considers the Lat. spūma (:—*spoimā) foam, pūmex pumice-stone, Zend paēman-, Lith. p{eumlacu}nas milk, to be also cognate]
1. a. The aggregation of minute bubbles formed in water or other liquids by agitation, fermentation, effervescence, ebullition, etc.
Being the proper word for the product of the agitation of the waves, foam is more dignified than the synonymous froth, and usually implies more copious production.
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. 426 Famfaluca: leasung vel faam. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 261 She nome Both of the water and of the fome. a 1440 Sir Degrev. 546 Whyegh as the seys ffame. 1513 Douglas æneis i. viii. 76 The bittir blastis..Throw..salt fame, and wilsum wayis..can ws drive. 1611 Bible Hos. x. 7 Her King is cut off as the fome vpon the water. 1652 French Yorksh. Spa iv. 50 That water is best for outward uses which will bear sope best, and make the greatest fome therewith. c 1720 W. Gibson Farrier's Dispens. ii. i. (1734) 32 Eggs..when beat into a Fome with Alum. 1786 Burns Scotch Drink ii, Guid auld Scotch Drink! Whether..thou..ream o'er the brink, In glorious faem. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. iv. 64 The foam of the sea becomes opaque white, by the light being scattered from the particles of water into which a wave is broken. |
| transf. and fig. a 1300 Cursor M. 26693 (Cott.) Quat es mans lijf bot fam. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 102 Mon is mad of feble fom. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. (1865) II. vi. iii. 155 The foam of mankind..the idle moneyed populations from all countries. 1866 B. Taylor Poems, Test 414 The meadows tossed their foam of flowers. |
b. spec. The foaming saliva issuing from the mouth,
e.g. in epilepsy, rabies, etc. Also, the froth of perspiration which gathers on the coat of a horse or other animal from intense exertion.
| c 900 Bæda's Hist. iii. ix. [xi]. (1890) 184 Þa faam of his muðe ut eode. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 231/409 Brenninde fom out of is mouth..he caste. c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 913 Thourgh the mouht the fom was wight. 1388 Wyclif Luke ix. 39 A spirit takith hym, and sudenli he..hurtlith doun, and to drawith hym with fome. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xii. 202 Two Boares..with their gnashing teeth their angry foame doe bite. 1735 Somerville Chase iv. 312 The pois'nous Foam Through the deep wound instil'd. 1875 W. S. Hayward Love agst. World 237 Her horse was covered with foam. |
| fig. 1555 Bp. Bonner Profitable Doctrine Sig. N iiij b, Baptysme..doeth..so weaken..y⊇ fome, or rage of concupiscence in vs..that [etc.]. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 872/1 King Henrie..is reported..to cast out his fome against Luther. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xix. §11 Our Churches, in the foame of that good spirit which directeth such fierie tongues, they terme spitefully the temples of Baal. |
† c. foam of lead = litharge.
foam of nitre = aphronitre.
foam of oil = lees.
foam of copperas = colcothar.
Obs.| 1538 Elyot Dict., Amurca, the mother or fome of all oyles. Ibid., Molybditis, the spume or fome of leade. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 421 The fome of nitre..is commended as the best of all. 1623 Cockeram ii, The Foame that riseth from Lead tryed, litargie. 1631 Widdowes Nat. Philos. 24 Red vitrioll, or the fome of Copperasse. |
d. A mass or layer of foam used in fire-fighting, produced by adding a foaming agent to a flow of water or by other means; also, a foaming agent so used. Also
attrib., as
foam carpet,
foam extinguisher,
foam generator.
| 1906 A. G. Laurent Brit. Pat. No. 18,357 15 Aug., The invention has for its object a hand fire extinguishing apparatus..that..sprays foam instead of liquid. 1933 Meccano Mag. Feb. 99/3 A fire engine in use at Dagenham carries practically all the equipment likely to be required by a fire brigade. This includes a chemical ‘foam’ generator. 1934 Webster, Foam extinguisher, a fire extinguisher discharging a frothy substance which covers and extinguishes by excluding air from the burning surface. 1957 Encycl. Brit. IX. 271/1 Foam is also used in the fire service in the form of a dry powder which employs a foam generator to mix the powder with water being discharged by the fire pump. 1960 Daily Tel. 12 Aug. 18/4 ‘Foam carpet’ for runway... A device for carpeting a runway with foam has been developed by the Engineering Flight at the R.A.F. Station, Waddington, Lincs. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. V 279/1 On oil fires water is effective only as a foam, or in some cases as a fog. 1970 Oxford Mail 3 Aug. 1/7 The pilot was reported to have turned down the RAF offer, which would have given him a foam cushion to land on. Ibid., The cost of laying an anti-fire foam carpet on the runway. |
e. Rubber or plastic in the form of a cellular mass similar to foam in structure. Usu.
attrib., as
foam mattress,
foam plastic,
foam rubber,
foam sheet. Also
foamed ppl. a., made or existing in this form.
| 1937 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLI. 1090 Some foam plastics are mentioned for the isolation against noise and the protection against cold. 1943 Air News 15 July 8/4 (caption) New uses for foamed rubber. 1945 Life 1 Oct. 129/1 Foam rubber..will soon be used to soften millions of U.S. beds and chairs. 1948 Daily Mail 30 Aug. 3/6 The chief new outlet in the rubber industry is in ‘foam’ rubber. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 108/2 Latex foam padding. 1955 Americana Ann. 125/2 Addition of water to the resin during processing causes elimination of carbon dioxide with the production of a foamed plastic. 1959 B.S.I. News Apr. 4/2 To work economically, this method of heating requires really efficient thermal insulation, and this is to be provided by extensive use of plastics foam sheets. 1959 Economist 6 June 940/2 Protected by space suits and foam mattresses. 1959 Observer 27 Sept. 4/3 ‘Expanded neoprene’ (a kind of foamed rubber). 1961 B.S.I. News Aug. 19/2 The B.S.I. recently drew the attention of the Board of Trade to a flock-filled pillow which was described as being made of ‘foam’. 1962 Which? July 198/1 The fifth type (of life-jacket)..used non-absorbent foam plastic to provide buoyancy. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. X. 494a/2 The rigid foams are employed as the core in structural laminates, such as in airplane wings. 1971 Brit. Med. Bull. XXVII. 75/2 Alternative materials for insulation, such as..foam plastics and cork. |
2. Foaming water, the sea; (in early use
occas. pl.) also
salt foam,
sea foam,
water foam.
arch. (
poet.).
| a 1000 Riddles iii. 4 (Gr.) Ᵹifen bið ᵹewreᵹed..fam ᵹewealcen. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 476/508 Huy gonne to seili swiþe in þat salte fom. c 1340 Cursor M. 14409 (Trin.) Moyses..ladde þem þourȝe þe see fome. c 1440 Bone Flor. 137 Over fomes they flett withowtyn fayle. 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 40, I sat doune to see the flouyng of the fame. 1613 J. D[ennis] Angling i. xxx, Long ere Phœbus set in Westerne fome. |
3. Min. = aphrite.
† 4. [from the
vb.] The action of foaming.
| 1573 Baret Alv. F 823 The fome, or sprinckling vp of new wine, in ale we call it working. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. a. General comb.: (
a) simple
attrib., as
foam bath,
foam-bell,
foam-flake,
foam-fleck,
foam-fleece,
foam-flower (see also 5 b),
foam-froth,
foam-globe,
foam-wake,
foam-whirl,
foam-wreath; (
b) objective, as
foam curber; (
c) instrumental and originative, as
foam-backed,
foam-beat,
foam-bedappled,
† foam-bespawled,
foam-born (also
quasi-n.),
foam-crested,
foam-filled,
foam-flecked,
foam-flowered,
foam-girt,
foam-lit,
foam-painted,
foam-upholstered,
foam-white,
foam-wrought adjs.; also
foam-like adj. and
adv.;
foam-cold,
foam-pale adjs.| 1963 Punch 10 Apr. p. xiv, Men's wear..includes *foam-backed car coats. |
| 1938 L. MacNeice I Crossed Minch ii. xvi. 232 She says that you're using astringents and taking *foam baths. 1969 A. Laski Dominant Fifth v. 181 She wanted..to go home, take off her shoes, soak in a foam bath. |
| 1777 Warton Poems, Ode viii. vi, Banks..Fenc'd by the *foam-beat pier. |
| 1633 [J. Fisher] True Trojans iv. i, Hyperions Sonne Shall couch in West his *fome-bedappled iades. |
| 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake 307 Light as the..*foam⁓bells floating on the brine. |
| 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. ii. Notes 33 Old Proteus hath been knowne..to spunge his *foame-bespawled beard. |
| 1862 E. Arnold in Fraser's Mag. July 114 The *‘Foam-Born's’ beauty. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 85 Still reigned the foam-born Aphrodite. |
| 1929 Blunden Near & Far 39 This *foam-cold vale. |
| a 1795 Burns Lament 5 Ye *foam-crested billows, allow me to wail. |
| 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe (1871) 51 A Lepanto like host of unfatigable flood-bickerers, and *foam-curbers. |
| 1959 Sunday Times 21 June 19/4 A chair that folds into a neat parcel... *Foam-filled cushion and back. |
| 1833 Tennyson Dream Fair Women x, Crisp *foam-flakes scud along the level sand. |
| 1895 M. Pemberton Impregnable City iv. 23 The *foam-flecks breaking upon the face. |
| 1842 Sir A. De Vere Song of Faith 253 *Foam-flecked waves. |
| 1876 G. M. Hopkins Wr. Deutschland (1918) 16 The cobbled *foam-fleece. 1928 Blunden Retreat 56 Where befouled the foam-fleece stays. |
| 1866 Swinburne Poems & Ballads 61 And the sea moving saw before it move One moon-flower making all the *foam-flowers fair. 1878 Ibid. 2nd Ser. 29 Look forth from the flowers to the sea; For the foam-flowers endure when the rose-blossoms wither. 1951 W. de la Mare Winged Chariot 31 The foam-flowers of sea-wilderness. |
| 1876 Swinburne Erechth. (ed. 2) 448 The *foam-flowered sea. |
| 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis i. (Arb.) 21 In *foam froth picturs, wyth Troian treasur, ar vpborne. |
| 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam xi. x, On a *foam-girt crag. |
| 1813 Scott Rokeby ii. vii, *Foam-globes on her eddies ride. |
| 1871 Palgrave Lyr. Poems 117 Pennons toss'd *foam-like o'er the fray. 1876 T. Hardy Hand Ethelb. (1890) 34 Ladies in their foam-like dresses. |
| 1793 Wordsw. Descr. Sk. 249 They cross the chasmy torrent's *foam-lit bed. |
| 1593 Nashe Christ's T. (1613) 62 Her Alablaster wals were all furred and *fome-painted. |
| 1895 W. B. Yeats Poems 41 From the *foam-pale distance. |
| 1961 Housewife Apr. 67/1 Chairs have *foam-upholstered seats. |
| 1876 Morris Sigurd iii. 210 They see..a *foam-wake as the wet oars toss on high. |
| 1841 in S. C. Hall Ireland (1843) III. 175 O'er the *foam-white waves. |
| 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam i. xvii, The *foam-wreaths which the faint tide wove. |
| Ibid. vi. iv, Like *foam-wrought waterfalls. |
b. Special comb.:
foam-back,
foamback (see
quot. 1963);
foam-bow, a bow, similar to a rainbow, formed by sunlight upon foam or spray;
foam-cock (see
quot.);
foam-dock, ? soapwort (
Saponaria officinalis);
foam flower, a member of the genus
Tiarella,
esp. T. cordifolia, a small perennial herb native to North America;
= false mitre-wort (
mitre-wort);
foam glass (see
quot. 1962);
foam-omelet,
-sauce (
Cookery), a dish so called from its frothy appearance;
foam-spar,
foam-stone, see
aphrite and
aphrodite.
| 1961 Drapery & Fashion Weekly 2 Mar. 1 *Foambacks will change the trade's whole way of life. 1963 A. J. Hall Textile Sci. iii. 157 Foam-back fabrics. A new development in the manufacture of fabric is to apply to the back of a woven or knitted fabric a very thin layer of synthetic foam sheeting... The presence of the foam layer confers great warmth and induces the garment to retain its shape better during wear. |
| 1830 Tennyson Œnone 60 The *foambow brightens When the wind blows the foam. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 897/1 *Foam-cock (Steam-engine), a cock at the water-level to blow off scum. |
| c 1500 Gloss. Harl. 3388 in Sax. Leechd. III. 327/1 *Fome dok. |
| 1895 W. Robinson Eng. Flower Garden (ed. 4) ii. 788/1 Some real treasures, for no apparent reason, are overlooked. Such has been the fate of the lovely little *Foam Flower, a hardy plant of rapid increase. 1908 Suburban Country Life July 20/2 The foam flower, the clintonia, [etc.]..make a carpet in a certain bit of woods. 1962 Amat. Gardening 27 Jan. 4 Tiarella cordifolia and the taller T. Wherryi are good weed suppressors..their feathery appearance has earned them the name Foam Flower. |
| 1948 Archit. Rev. CIV. 268 Insulation for walls, floors and ceilings is 6 in. cork, and for the roof it is *foam glass and composition. 1962 Gloss. Terms Glass Ind. (B.S.I.) 33 Foam glass, a rigid multi⁓cellular insulating block fabricated from glass of high durability and comprising a homogeneous mass of closed cells. |
| 1892–4 Encycl. Cookery (Garrett) II. 21/1 *Foam Omelet. |
| Ibid. II. 400/1 *Foam Sauce. |
▪ II. foam, v. (
fəʊm)
Forms. α. 1
fǽman, 3
femin,
feamen,
south. vemen, 4
feme; β. 4–7
fome (4
south. vome, 5
fomyn,) 5
fame, 7
foame, 6–
foam.
[OE. fǽman = OHG. feiman (MHG. veimen, G. feimen:—WGer. *faimjan, f. *faim- foam n. In 14th c. the OE. word was superseded by a new formation on the n. (without umlaut).] 1. intr. To emit foam;
esp. to froth at the mouth; also with
out. Often as a hyperbolical description of vehement rage or wrath. Also of a horse, etc.: To be covered with foam (of perspiration).
Cf. foam n. 1 b.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark ix. 18 Spumat, fæmeð. a 1225 Juliana 68 As an burst bar, þat grunde his tuskes ant feng on to femin. a 1350 Life Jesus 223 Bete and bite it wolde..And grenny with is teth and feme. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. xii, Mine hors..Fomyng full whyte vpon euery syde. c 1440 Jacob's Well 99 Þe man..fomyd out at his mowth. a 1529 Skelton Elynour Rummyng 341 Her mouth fomyd. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. ii. 255 He [Caesar]..foam'd at mouth, and was speechlesse. 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 113 He snorts, he foams. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 349, I expected every moment to see them fall down in convulsions [and] foam at the mouth. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xl, Legree, foaming with rage, smote his victim to the ground. |
| fig. 1817 D'Israeli Cur. Lit. III. 303 A tedious invective, foaming at the mouth of its text with quotations and authorities. 1870 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 248 He [Byron]..foams at things and creatures not worth a glance. |
b. Const.
† of,
† on,
with (blood).
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 7261 The fas in the fell hast femyt on blode. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 959 Hys mouthe famed of blode. 1573 Baret Alv. F 821 He fometh with bloud at the mouth. |
† 2. To come forth in foam.
Obs.| c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1572 Þe froþe femed at his mouth vnfayre. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. xxx. (1495) 244 The blood fomith wyth cough and traueyle and ache. |
3. Of water or other liquid: To froth, gather foam. Also, to run foaming
along,
down,
over, etc. Also
fig. to foam off,
foam itself away: to pass away in foam.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. xxv. (1495) 456 For lightnesse of ayre that is closid water fomyth. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 169/2 Fomyn, spumo. 1535 Coverdale Isa. lvii. 20 The raginge see..whose water fometh with y⊇ myre. 1576 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 386 In wynter the water fomyth over. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. vi. 21 My Nauie. At whose burthen, The anger'd Ocean fomes. 1728 Young Odes to King Wks. (1757) I. 173 The torrent roar'd, and foam'd along. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 76 A mountain stream was now foaming down it. 1826 Scott Woodst. x, Enthusiasm is a stream that may foam off in its own time. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington 126 Their surging charges foam'd themselves away. |
b. Of a steam-boiler: To become filled with foam (Webster 1864).
4. a. intr. Of a drinking vessel: To be filled with foaming liquor.
b. trans. To fill or brim with foaming liquor.
| 1725 Pope Odyss. xv. 341 Few can with me..contend..To..foam the goblet with a purple stream. 1822 Shelley Hellas 939 The cup is foaming with a nation's blood. 1855 M. Arnold Mycerinus 97 Flush'd guests, and golden goblets foam'd with wine. |
5. trans. To send forth or emit in or like foam; to pour
out with rage and violence. Chiefly
fig.| 1388 Wyclif Jude 13 These ben..wawis of the woode see, fomynge [1382 frothinge] out her confusiouns. a 1535 More Wks. (1557) 579/1 Tindall..fometh oute hys hyghe spirituall sentence in thys fashion. 1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. E viij b, Two fyrie coursers foming clottred blood. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 898 They roam the earth..foaming out their own disgrace. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 342 Leolin..foam'd away his heart at Averill's ear. |
† 6. To cover with or as with foam.
Obs. rare.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10219 With þaire fawchons fell, femyt of blode. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. lx. 5 The head spider (with wheat tuskes fomde like a bore). |
7. nonce-use. To draw (a chariot)
along with the accompaniment of foam.
| 1820 Keats Hyperion ii. 234 Have ye beheld the young God of the Seas?.. Have ye beheld his chariot, foam'd along By noble winged creatures he hath made? |
Hence
ˈfoamer, one who foams.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 577 [Epithets applied to wolves]..bloud-sucker, foamer. |