frumenty

noun

fru·​men·​ty ˈfrü-mən-tē 

variants or less commonly furmity

ˈfər-mə-tē 

plural frumenties

: a dish of wheat boiled in milk and usually sweetened and spiced

Word History

Etymology

Middle English frumenty, furmenty, borrowed from Anglo-French formenté, fromenté, frumenté (continental Middle French fromentee), from furment, frument "wheat" (going back to Vulgar Latin *frumentum, alteration of Latin frūmentum "the fruit of cereal plants, grain") + -é, reduced from -ee, suffix of association or containment, going back to Late Latin -āta (going back to Latin, feminine of -ātus -ate entry 3); frūmentum going back to frūg-, base of frūx (usually in plural) "edible produce of plants, fruit, crops, grain" and fruor, fruī "to enjoy the produce or proceeds of, derive advantage from" + -mentum -ment — more at fruit entry 1

Note: The variant furmity is best known from the role rum-laced furmity or frumenty plays in Thomas Hardy's novel The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886).

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above