mathom
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mathom
- /ˈmæðəm/
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Old English māþum (“treasure, object of value, jewel, ornament, gift”), from Proto-Germanic *maiþmaz (“present, gift”); introduced by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings with the conceit that it was a translation of his invented language Adûni's kast, a word used by Hobbits as a generic name for items which they were unwilling to throw away, but for which they had no use.
noun mathoms · madme · mathum
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A trinket or piece of bric-a-brac; a knick-knack, often used in regifting.
When the door of the mathom shop is closed and the Inhabitant leaves the print of his footsteps for a moment on the wooden stair, things pause. There is no movement, not even of time. The mathoms listen until, downstairs, carpets and rugs swallow the noises of living, [...]
Similar: trinket
Talk about this word "mathom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mathom. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mathom. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mathom "mathom." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mathom.Cite this
@misc{mathom_2026,
title = {mathom},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mathom},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
