This base type meaning 'foam' is of Germanic origin. Its widespread use indicates borrowing from Germanic before the Migration Period. Originally, the word referred to a type of pomade that the Romans bought from the Teutons and called spuma (cf. Martial 8, 33, 19f. [ed. Loeb]: "fortior et tortos servat vesica capillos / et mutat Latias spuma Batava comas." 'Stronger the net that keeps braided hair in place and the Batavian foam that dyes Latin tresses'; see also Plin. NH 28, 191, where sapo/soap is referenced in this context). Plinius also uses the word to describe butyrum – 'butter', it seems (cf. the excerpt in the comment on the concept KÄSE). This is why it is likely that the Germanic word is a loanword from lat. spuma . Through the contact with the lat. expression, germ. *skūm also adopted the feminine gender and became skuma. It then was borrowed into French (écume ) and Italian (schiuma ). In the 12th century, fro., frm. escume had the meaning: 'Foam that forms on liquids when they are shaken, heated or when they are fermenting' (cf. FEW 17, 137–140 under *skūm). The specific meaning 'cream' seems to be typically alpine.