Fermentation

fer-men-ta'-shun, s. originally the decomposition which takes place in dead organic matter when exposed to the action of moisture and air under a moderate he at, now properly a change of the like kind which takes place in an organic substance, not naturally liable to it, when acted on by body in the above state of decomposition, hence called a ferment; an agitation among the ideas or feelings of the mind caused by some disturbing influence that tends materially to modify them.