Fester
/ˈfɛstər/noun
To become inflamed, rotten, or infected; also, to linger and worsen emotionally or socially.
Did you know?The word entered English through a cluster of French and Latin forms meaning to nourish or feed, and its modern sense was shaped by the grim image of a wound that ‘feeds’ infection as it worsens.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pa-
“to feed, protect, or tend”
Latin
Latin
pāstus
“fed, nourished; pasture or feeding”
Late Latin
Late Latin
fēstāre
“to suppurate, to form pus”
Old French
Old French
fester
“to suppurate; to become rotten or infected”
Middle English
English
fester
“to suppurate, ulcerate, or decay”
Modern English
English
fester
“to become infected, inflamed, or to worsen over time”