gum English · revision 15156

+ Gum, the flesh around the teeth, is a native word; gum, a sticky substance, came through French and Latin from Greek.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡʌm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|flesh around the teeth}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 825}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The gum of the mouth is [[inh|enm|gome]], [[inh|ang|gōma|t=palate, inside of the mouth]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[goh|guomo]] (modern [[de|Gaumen|t=palate]]) and [[non|gómr|t=roof of the mouth]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) and related to [[lt|gomurys|t=palate]].^(Etymonline) Barnhart traces it to a root meaning to yawn, also behind [[chaos]], so that the first sense was the open jaw;^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline gives this root as a possibility.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The inside of the mouth or throat, the palate: about 825 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Middle English gome is from about 1150.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The specific sense, the flesh around the teeth, is first recorded before 1325 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) 1398 in the OED.^(OED 1989) In slang, gum was impertinent talk or chatter from 1751.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 825 – the palate.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1150 – gome.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – the flesh around the teeth.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1751 – chatter (slang).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The firm flesh that covers the jaws and surrounds the bases of the teeth, often in the plural.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To chew food with toothless gums.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gumboil]]

+ * [[gumline]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|sticky substance}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1325|origins=grc κόμμι}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The sticky substance is [[inh|enm|gumme]], [[bor|fro|gomme]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-lat|gumma]], from [[la|gummi]], also [[m|la|cummi]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[grc|κόμμι|tr=kómmi|t=gum]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) probably of Egyptian origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021) The Latin word is also the source of [[de|Gummi]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Before 1325, in Cursor Mundi;^(Barnhart 1988) a sticky secretion from trees and shrubs about 1385 in the OED, about 1300 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb, to treat with gum, is from about 1325,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''gum arabic'' and gummy from before 1398.^(Barnhart 1988) Dried gum was used to stiffen linen from 1456,^(OED 1989) and the gum tree was named for its resin in the 1670s.^(Etymonline) A sweet made of hardened gelatine is from 1827,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and chewing gum, in American English, from 1842.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The gumdrop is American, from 1860.^(Barnhart 1988) To gum up, to spoil, as if machinery were clogged, is recorded by 1901,^(Etymonline) and the gumshoe, a detective, wore rubber-soled shoes, from the early 20th century.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1325 – gum.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1398 – gum arabic.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – gum tree.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1827 – a gum sweet.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1842 – chewing gum (US).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1901 – to gum up.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sticky substance that oozes from certain plants and trees, hardening in air and dissolving in water.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An [[adhesive]] made from such substances; glue.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # [[chewing gum|alt=Chewing gum]].^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover, seal or fix with gum.^(AHD)

+ # To become sticky or clogged.^(AHD)

+ # ''gum up'': to spoil or clog something.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gummy]]

+ * [[gumdrop]]

+ * [[gumshoe]]

+ * [[gum arabic]]

+ * [[chewing gum]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gumma]]

+ * [[gummite]]

+ * [[gummose]]

+ * [[gummosis]]

+ * [[gummous]]

+ * [[chaos]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Gum in mild oaths such as ''by gum'' is a 19th-century alteration of God.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}