mummer
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mummer
- /ˈmʌm.ə(ɹ)/ UK
- /ˈmʌm.ɚ/ US
Rhymes with -ʌmə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English mummer, mommer, equivalent to mum + -er, perhaps conflating with Old French momeor (“jester, entertainer”), from mommer (“to wear a mask”), from momon (“mask”). Compare German Mumme (“mask”), 16th Century German mummen (“to disguise oneself”), Middle Dutch mommen, mummen (“to go about in a mask, to disguise”), Middle Low Saxon mommen (“to wear a mask, to disguise”), Dutch mom (“mask”) and mimmen (“to mask”) as well as Spanish momo (“grimace”).
Perhaps both of the conflated terms are from the same ultimate root, as note Middle Low Saxon mummen (“to speak indistinctly, to disguise oneself”), Dutch mommen (“to speak indistinctly”), German mummen (“to speak indistinctly”), English mump (“to grimace, mumble”).
noun mummers
- A person who dons a disguising costume, as for a parade or a festival.
-
An actor in a pantomime; one who communicates entirely through gesture and facial expression.
[To] perform as mummers, who act in relays of eight, at the worship of ancestors.
Similar: mime
verb mummers · mummering · mummered
-
Synonym of mum (“to act in pantomime or dumb show”).
There is a general agreement that niggering [blackface performance] took over from mummering to keep up the old custom.
Similar: mum
Translations
Every language
noun person who dons a disguising costume
| Português | fantasiado, momo |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Mumme, verkleideter Mensch |
Talk about this word "mummer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mummer. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mummer. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mummer "mummer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mummer.Cite this
@misc{mummer_2026,
title = {mummer},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mummer},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
