fomites

Pronounced: FOAM-uh-teez (alt: FOH-mites)

Notes: Our word is a plural noun, but the singular form is NOT fomite

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Yesterday’s word

The word chatelaine is

• the wife of a castellan [governor of a castle]
• the mistress of a chateau, household, or large establishment
• a clasp or hook for a watch, purse, or bunch of keys

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

As I noted, I had the idea that our word referred to someone like a hostess; that is pretty close to the first two meanings. However, I was completely unaware of the third meaning. It is, however, a logical progression: our word (which came from the French word châtelaine) originally had the first definition, and broadened to the second definition. However, a woman in charge of castle (or household) must, of necessity, have a complete set of keys, and our word was used for a decorative hook or clasp from which keys could be suspended. From there, other things were hung (a watch, a purse, etc), but the word remained.