mum English · revision 5376
16 Oct 2026, 02:25 by bogdan “en10k b0202: deck … bureau” current version
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+ Mum, silent, and mum, mother, are different words, each imitating a sound made with the lips.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /mʌm/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ {{homograph|1|silent}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1377}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|mom|alt=mom, mum]], probably imitating an inarticulate sound made with closed lips,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) compare Middle Low German mummen and Dutch mommen.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) It is related to [[mumble]] and [[mumps]].^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ An inarticulate sound made with closed lips, showing inability or unwillingness to speak: 1377 in the OED, before 1376 in Piers Plowman according to Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The verb meant to make silent from about 1400 and to be silent from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) The adjective, silent or secret, is from 1521.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) The interjection “hush!” is from the 1560s.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Mum's the word'' is recorded by 1704 in Etymonline and Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It and ''keep mum'' are associated with Second World War warnings about careless talk, but according to Word Origins both phrases go back to the early 16th century.^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1377 – a sound with closed lips.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1521 – adjective, silent.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1560s – interjection, hush.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1704 – ''mum's the word''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Silent, saying nothing: ''keep mum''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Interjection===
+ # Be quiet! ''Mum's the word''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ {{homograph|2|mother}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1823}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ Mum, mother, is a pet word short for [[mummy]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) partly a variant of [[mam]].^(SOED 2002) Like [[ma]] and [[mama]], it goes back to the first sounds made by babies.^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Mother: 1823 in Etymonline, the mid-17th century in SOED.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It is chiefly British; the American form is [[mom]].^(Collins 2023)^(Cresswell 2021) In British sociology it was used from 1957 for the working-class mother as an influence on her children.^(Etymonline) It was also sometimes a vulgar form of [[madam]] or ma'am.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1823 – mother.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1957 – in sociology.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(chiefly British, informal)'' [[mother]].^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[mumble]]
+ * [[mumps]]
+ * [[mummy]]
+ * [[mom]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ Mum is also short for [[chrysanthemum]], in gardeners' jargon by 1915.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Mum, a kind of beer first brewed in Brunswick, from German Mumme, is a different word from the 17th century,^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) as is the verb mum, to act in a mummers' play.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}