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barm

noun

  1. bread roll
  2. foam that rises in beer while fermenting; yeast
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /bɑːm/ / /bɑɹm/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English berme, berm, from Old English beorma, from Proto-West Germanic *bermō (“yeast; barm”); related to the dialectal Low German Bärm (“yeast”), from Middle Low German barm, berm. The cake sense is possibly a shortened form of barmcake, which would be made with yeast as described in that sense, or possibly it is from the Irish bairín breac, a type of bread.

  1. Foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, used as leaven in brewing and making bread; yeast.

    [A]nd sometimes make the drink to bear no barm.

    In 1577 yeast, called barm, is bought at 9d. the pail.

  2. A small, round, flat individual loaf or roll of bread.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English bermen, from the noun (see above).

  1. To spurge; foam