Infusioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A drink or extract produced by soaking herbs or leaves in liquid ; the act of instilling a quality, spirit or element into something
2. A steeped liquid drawn from plant matter ; the process of pouring in or imparting a new quality, feeling or substance
3. An extract prepared by steeping plant material in water ; a gradual introduction of some spirit, virtue or element into a person or thing

Etymology: The word "infusioun" is Middle English, the spelling used in the late 1300s and 1400s, and it entered the language by way of Old French "infusion" from Latin "infusio," a noun built from "infundere," meaning "to pour into." The Latin verb itself combines "in-," meaning "into," with "fundere," "to pour." That literal sense of pouring something into a vessel is still visible in both of the word's modern meanings. The physical sense, a liquid made by steeping plant matter, came first in practice: pouring hot water over herbs to draw out their flavour and virtue was an ordinary medical and household process long before the word described it. The figurative sense, instilling a quality or spirit into a person or thing, follows the same logic. Something poured in gradually takes on the character of what it has soaked in.