Brewynge

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The process of making beer or ale by steeping and fermenting malt ; the quantity of such a drink produced in one go ; the gradual gathering or forming of something threatening
2. The act of producing ale by boiling and fermenting grain ; a single amount of beer made at one time ; the slow development of a looming problem or danger
3. Making ale or beer through steeping, boiling and fermentation ; a batch of that drink prepared in one session ; the stirring up of trouble or a storm that is taking shape

Etymology: Brewynge is a Middle English spelling of "brewing," the present participle and verbal noun of "brew." The root goes back to Old English "brēowan," which meant to ferment or make a drink such as ale by mixing and heating ingredients, and it is cognate with Old Norse "brugga" and Old High German "brouwan." The verb's ancient sense of making beer is far older than any idea of stewing tea or mixing a potion, and the word has changed little in form since the Old English period. The Middle English spelling "brewynge" reflects the medieval English habit of writing a "y" where modern English uses "i," and the "-ynge" ending was the standard form of the -ing suffix in the 14th and 15th centuries. By the time Chaucer and his contemporaries wrote, "brewing" could refer both to the process of making ale and to the quantity of drink produced in one batch, a sense that survives in the modern noun "a brewing."