Poetics: A Blog About Language

Foster

The word foster means to take care of a displaced human or animal until they can take care of themselves. It also means to promote someone’s (or something’s) growth. The word has been around since before the 12th century, when the English language looked much less like it does today, coming from fōstor, meaning “to feed.” 

One might identify as a foster child if they are within the foster care system. We can foster growth within our communities by working together. Her love of music was fostered by the environment she grew up in.

Bananas Foster also is a dessert named after someone named Richard Foster, a chef in New Orleans.



merriamwebsterdictionary.com
https://www.neworleansrestaurants.com/new-orleans-recipes/

Arm1 

Noun1: Human, animal, machine, athletics (she has an arm for that), branch in an organization, medical studies

Noun2: weapon, firearm

Verb: to strengthen with weapons, “to equip or ready for action,” can also be used metaphorically. 

The word comes from the PIE root “ar-” “to fit together.” 2The Online Etymology Dictionary also points to the sources “of Sanskrit irmah “arm,” Greek arthron “a joint,” Latin armus “shoulder.”

“Art” shares the same root. An “artist” is a person who has practiced a particular skill to the point of being an expert or professional. Someone might practice the art of drawing, sorcery or martial arts. One might even practice the art of lying.

The military sense of the word came into the English language after the Norman Conquest (1099) and is of Anglo-French origin. This is also a period in which the English language acquires “armor” and “firearm.”* 

English also gains the words: “armed neutrality,” “armamentarium,” “armature,” “armchair,” “arme blanche” (from French, meaning “white weapon”), “armistice,” “armpit,” “armored cable,” “arm candy,” and more.

 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arm#word-history
 https://www.etymonline.com/word/arm#:~:text=arm (v.),2)).

  1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arm#word-history ↩︎
  2. https://www.etymonline.com/word/arm#:~:text=arm (v.),2)). ↩︎