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gum

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gum¹

  • /ɡʌm/
  • /ɡum/
  • /ɡʊm/ New England, obsolete

Sounds like gome · Rhymes with -ʌm

Where it comes from

From Middle English gom, gome, gomme, goome, gum, gume, gumme, from Old English gōma (“palate”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōmō, from Proto-Germanic *gaumô, *gōmô (“palate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to gape, yawn”).

Cognates

Cognate with Cimbrian gaumo (“palate”), German Gaum, Gaumen (“palate”), Luxembourgish Gomm, Gumm (“palate”), Yiddish גומען (gumen, “palate”), Danish gumme (“gums”), Icelandic gómur (“gum”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish gom (“palate”); also Latin hio (“to gape, yawn”), Ancient Greek χάσκω (kháskō, “to gape, yawn”), Lithuanian gomurỹs (“palate”), Bulgarian зе́я (zéja, “to gape”), Czech zát, zet (“to gape”), Polish ziać (“to pant”), Russian зия́ть (zijátʹ, “to gape, yawn”), Serbo-Croatian зи́јати, zíjati (“to gape, yawn”), Ukrainian зя́яти (zjájaty, “to gape”), Tocharian A koy- (“mouth”), Tocharian B koyn (“mouth”). More at yawn.

noun gums · gom · goom · gumm

  1. in plural, often The flesh around the teeth.

    Similar: gingiva

verb gums · gumming · gummed · gom · goom

  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.

gum²

  • /ɡʌm/
  • /ɡum/
  • /ɡʊm/ New England, obsolete

Sounds like gome · Rhymes with -ʌm

Where it comes from

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 gums

  1. 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
  2. uncountable Any viscous or sticky substance resembling the true gum. gum benzoin
  3. uncountable Chewing gum.
  4. countable A single piece of chewing gum. Do you have a gum to spare?
  5. South Africa, countable, in plural, often, uncountable A gummi candy.
  6. Southern US, US, countable, dialectal, uncountable A hive made of a section of a hollow gum tree; hence, any roughly made hive.
  7. Southern US, US, countable, dialectal, uncountable A vessel or bin made from a hollow log.
  8. US, countable, dialectal, uncountable A rubber overshoe.
  9. countable, uncountable A gum tree.

verb gums · gumming · gummed

  1. sometimes, with up To apply an adhesive or gum to; to make sticky by applying a sticky substance to. 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. He frets like a gummed velvet.
  3. sometimes, with together To inelegantly attach into a sequence. 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.

GUM³

noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism, uncountable Initialism of genitourinary medicine
  2. abbreviation, initialism, uncountable Initialism of GUM (department store).

Gum⁴

Where it comes from

* As an English and German surname, variant of Gumm.

* As a north/Low German surname, from Old Saxon gumo (“man”).

* As a Chinese surname, Romanized from 甘 (gān) (Gan).

proper noun Gums

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: gingiva, mucilage, chewing gum, glue, mumble, gumwood, gum tree, xanthan, chewing, chewer, plastic, rubber, pitch, gas, tragacanth, cistus

Translations

Every language

noun flesh around teeth

Españolencía
한국어잇몸 inmom
日本語齦 haguki, 歯茎 haguki, 歯齦 shigin, 歯肉
中文齒齦 /齿龈 chǐyín, 牙齦 /牙龈 yáyín, 齦 /龈 yín
हिन्दीमसूड़ा masūṛā
Kiswahiliufizi
Portuguêsgengiva
Françaisgencive
DeutschZahnfleisch
Italianogengiva
Ελληνικάούλο oúlo
Românăgingie
Русскийдесна́ desná
Tiếng Việtnướu, lợi
العربيةلِثَة liṯa, لَثَة laṯa
עבריתחניכיים, חֲנִיכַיִם khanikháyim

verb to chew by using gums

Русскийжамкать žamkatʹ

noun sticky substance exuded by certain plants

Españolgoma
Portuguêsresina
Françaisgomme
DeutschKautschuk
Русскийкамедь kamedʹ, смола smola
العربيةصَمْغ ṣamḡ

noun sticky substance resembling that exuded by certain plants

Françaisgomme

noun single piece of chewing gum

Españolchicle
中文口香糖 kǒuxiāngtáng
Portuguêschiclete, goma de mascar
Françaischewing-gum
DeutschKaugummi
Русскийжвачка žvačka
العربيةعِلْكَة ʕilka

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Cite this
MLA

"gum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

gum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gum

Chicago

"gum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gum.

BibTeX
@misc{gum_2026,
  title = {gum},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gum},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}