Wiktionary

gum

See also: Gum and GUM

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English gome, from Old English gōma (“palate”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōmō, from Proto-Germanic *gōmô, *gaumô (“palate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂u-mo-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂w- (“to gape, yawn”).

See also German Gaumen, Old Norse gómr, Icelandic gómur; also Tocharian A ko, Tocharian B koyṃ (“mouth”), Lithuanian gomurỹs (“palate”). More at yawn.

Noun

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gum (plural gums)

  1. (often in the plural) The flesh around the teeth.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Terms derived from gum (noun, etymology 1)
Translations
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Verb

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gum (third-person singular simple present gums, present participle gumming, simple past and past participle gummed)

  1. To chew, especially of a toothless person or animal.
  2. (transitive) To deepen and enlarge the spaces between the teeth of (a worn saw), as with a gummer.

Etymology 2

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From Middle English gomme, gumme, borrowed from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian qmy (“anointing oil”), qmyt (“acanthus resin, gum”). Cognate with Spanish goma (“rubber”). Doublet of gumma.

Noun

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gum (countable and uncountable, plural gums)

  1. (botany, biochemistry, chiefly uncountable) A viscous water-soluble carbohydrate exudate of certain plants that hardens when it becomes dry, or such a substance as a component of a plant exudate.
    gum arabic
    gum-oleo-resin
  2. (chiefly uncountable) Any viscous or sticky substance resembling the true gum.
    gum benzoin
    • 1833, John Kennedy, Geordie Chalmers; or, the Law in Glenbuckie, page 205:
      […] becoomed wi' the gum o' the coal-hill […]
  3. (chiefly uncountable) Chewing gum.
  4. (countable) A single piece of chewing gum.
    Do you have a gum to spare?
    • 2005, Zadie Smith, On Beauty, Penguin Books (2006), page 388:
      Levi unwrapped a gum and put it in his mouth.
  5. (South Africa, often in the plural) A gummi candy.
  6. (US, dialect, Southern US) A hive made of a section of a hollow gum tree; hence, any roughly made hive.
  7. (US, dialect, Southern US) A vessel or bin made from a hollow log.
  8. (US, dialect) A rubber overshoe.
  9. A gum tree.
Derived terms
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Terms derived from gum (etymology 2)
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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gum (third-person singular simple present gums, present participle gumming, simple past and past participle gummed)

  1. (sometimes with up) To apply an adhesive or gum to; to make sticky by applying a sticky substance to.
    • 2012, Julie Hedgepeth Williams, A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells' Story of Survival, →ISBN, page 184:
      However, Albert said in his audiotape and in his speech that a lever designed to release the lifeboat's block and tackle was gummed up with red paint.
  2. To stiffen with glue or gum.
  3. (sometimes with together) To inelegantly attach into a sequence.
    • 1946, George Orwell, Politics and the English Language:
      It consists in gumming together long strips of words [that] have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug.
  4. (colloquial, with up) To impair the functioning of a thing or process.
    That cheap oil will gum up the engine valves.
    The new editor can gum up your article with too many commas.
Derived terms
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Anagrams

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Czech

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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gum

  1. genitive plural of guma

Dutch

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Alternative forms

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  • gom (now restricted to Belgium in the meaning “eraser”).

Etymology

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A relatively recent variant of gom.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gum m (plural gummen, diminutive gummetje n)

  1. an eraser

Derived terms

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Hausa

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɡùm/
    • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA(key): [ɡʷʊ̀m]

Ideophone

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gùm

  1. smelling bad

Alternative forms

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Icelandic

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *gaumō (“attention, heed”)[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gum n (genitive singular gums, no plural)

  1. boasting, exaggeration
    Synonyms: gort, raup

Declension

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Declension of gum (sg-only neuter)
singular
indefinite definite
nominative gum gumið
accusative gum gumið
dative gumi guminu
genitive gums gumsins

Derived terms

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  • guma (“to boast, to exaggerate”)

References

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  1. ^ Guus Kroonen (2013) “gumen”, in Alexander Lubotsky, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 195

Middle English

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Noun

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gum

  1. Alternative form of gumme

Polish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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gum f pl

  1. genitive plural of guma

Salar

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Etymology

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From Proto-Turkic *kum. Compare to Turkish kum, etc.

Pronunciation

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  • (Ejia, Daowei, Xunhua, Qinghai, Ili, Yining, Xinjiang) IPA(key): [kum]

Noun

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gum (3rd person possessive gumı, plural gumlar)

  1. sand

References

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  • Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “kum”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 395
  • Yakup, Abdurishid (2002) “gum”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon‎[2], Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 109

Scots

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Etymology 1

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From English gum.

Noun

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gum (plural gums)

  1. gum

Etymology 2

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Uncertain; perhaps a specialised use of Etymology 1, above.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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gum (plural gums)

  1. mist, vapour, haze

Scottish Gaelic

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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gum

  1. that
    Tha mi cinnteach gum biodh e toilichte. - I'm certain that he would be happy.

Usage notes

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  • Used before b, f, m and p.

Sumerian

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Romanization

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gum

  1. Romanization of 𒄣 (gum)

Turkmen

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Turkic *kum (“sand”). Cognates with Turkish kum.

Noun

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gum (definite accusative [please provide], plural [please provide])

  1. sand

Further reading

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  • “gum” in Enedilim.com
  • “gum” in Webonary.org

Zazaki

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Noun

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gum

  1. (anatomy) cheek
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