Etymology

fomite

F4O1M3I1T1E1

Today it means: An inanimate object capable of carrying infectious agents (such as bacteria, viruses or prions), and thus passively enabling their transmission between hosts; common examples include towels, dishcloths, kitchenware/flatware, and laundry. Full definition →

Latin fōmes
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromfōmes“tinder, kindling”
  2. English todayfomite

A back-formation from fomites, plural of fomes, a borrowing of medical Latin fōmes (“tinder, kindling”), used figuratively to evoke the analogy of a spreading infection to a spreading fire.

Words from the same roots

Latinfōmes all →

fomes

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.