Foam
/foʊm/noun
A mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid, or a soft light substance full of such bubbles.
Did you know?English foam comes from a very old Germanic word meaning froth or spume, and its deep relatives include words for sea-foam and frothy liquid across the Germanic language family.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pā- / *pō-
“A root associated with drinking, feeding, or spitting out liquid, though the exact prehistory is uncertain.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*faumaz
“Froth, foam, or spume.”
Old English
OE
fām
“Foam, froth, or scum on water or other liquids.”
Middle English
ME
fome / fome
“Foam or froth.”
Modern English
English
foam
“A mass of tiny bubbles in a liquid or a light bubbly substance.”