Meaning & History. Derived from Latin leo meaning lion, a cognate of LEON. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings.
Yeast is a good example of an organism that undergoes alcoholic fermentation. The same process that goes on in the mitochondria during lactic acid fermentation also happens in alcoholic fermentation. The only difference is that the byproduct of alcoholic fermentation is ethyl alcohol.
When an energy substrate is available, often a simple carbohydrate, and often under anaerobic (lack of oxygen) conditions, fermentation will proceed. Many microorganisms use fermentation as an energy producing pathway. These may include molds, fungi, and bacteria. No, food can not ferment on its own. Fermentation is always a biological process. We often think of food spoilage or fermentation as being spontaneous. But this is due to the fact that we can not see the very small (micro) organisms doing the activity.