gum

See also GUM

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: gŭm, IPA: ɡʌm, SAMPA: gVm

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌm

Etymology 1

Middle English gome, from Old English gōma 'palate', from Proto-Germanic *gōmô (“palate”) (compare German Gaumen, Old Norse gómr whence Icelandic gómur), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰhₐu-mo- (compare Tocharian A ... (ko), Tocharian B ... (koyṃ) 'mouth', Lithuanian gomurỹs 'palate'), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰehₐw- (“to gape, yawn”). More at yawn.

Noun

gum (plural gums)

1. (often in the plural) The flesh round the teeth.

Synonyms

• gingiva (medical)

Derived terms

Terms derived from gum (noun, etymology 1)

gumboil gum-didder gum-digger gum-digging gum disease gumless gummed gummy

gum ridge gum-ring gum-rubber gum shield gum-stake gum-tickler gum-tooth gumwork

Translations

flesh around teeth

Arabic: لِثّة (líθθa) f. Armenian: լինդ (hy) (lind) Basque: please add this translation if you can Catalan: gengiva (ca) f. Cebuano: lagus Chinese: 齒齦, 齿龈 (chǐyīn) Cornish: kig dens (kw) m. Czech: dáseň (cs) f. Dutch: tandvlees (nl) n. Esperanto: please add this translation if you can Estonian: ige (et) Finnish: ikenet (fi) pl. French: gencive (fr) m. Georgian: სასა (ka) (sasa) German: Zahnfleisch (de) n. Hebrew: please add this translation if you can Hindi: please add this translation if you can Hungarian: íny (hu), fogíny (hu) Icelandic: gómur (is) m. Ido: jenjivo Italian: gengiva (it) f. Japanese: 歯茎 (ja) (はぐき, haguki)

Korean: 잇몸 (ko) (itmom) Latgalian: muzlys f. pl. Latin: gingiva (la) Latvian: smaganas (lv) f. pl. Lithuanian: dantenos (lt) f. pl. Malay: gusi (ms) Mongolian: буйл (mn) (buyl) Polish: dziąsło (pl) n., dziąsła (pl) pl. Portuguese: gengiva (pt) f. Romanian: gingie (ro) f. Russian: десна (ru) (desná) f. Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: де̑сни (sh) f. pl. Roman: dȇsni (sh) f. pl. Spanish: encía (es) f. Swedish: tandkött (sv) n. Thai: เหงือก (th) (ngèuak) Turkish: dişeti (tr) (lit., tooth-flesh) Volapük: gingif (vo) Persian: please add this translation if you can

Verb

gum (third-person singular simple present gums, present participle gumming, simple past and past participle gummed)

1. To chew, especially of a toothless person or animal.

Etymology 2

Middle English gomme, gumme, from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian ḳmj-t (qemỵt, qemài) 'acanthus resin'.

Noun

gum (countable and uncountable; plural gums)

1. (uncountable) Any of various viscous or sticky substances that are exuded by certain plants.
2. (uncountable) Any viscous or sticky substance resembling those that are exuded by certain plants.
3. (uncountable) Chewing gum.
4. (countable) A single piece of chewing gum.

   Do you have a gum I could have?

Derived terms

Terms derived from gum (etymology 2)

acacia gum accaroid gum, accroides gum apple-gum bee gum begum black gum blue gum box-gum British gum bubble gum, bubble-gum, bubblegum carob gum chagual gum chewing gum chicle gum dammar gum degum doctor-gum doctor's gum elastic gum free gum gellan gum ghatti gum grilled gum guar gum gum acacia gum acaroidea, gum accroides gum albanum gum ammoniac gum anima, gum animé, gum animi gum animal

gum arabic gumball gum band gum benjamin gum benzoin gum bichromate gum-boiler gum boot, gumboot gum-bucket gum butea gum camphor gum-chewer gum-chewing gum cistus gum dammar gum-digger gum-digging gum dragon gum-drop, gumdrop gum elastic gum elemi gum eraser gum eurphorbium gum-field gum-flowers gum-game gum guaiac gum-hole gum ivy gum juniper gum karaya gum kino gum labdanum

gum lac gum-land gumlands gum-line, gumline gummage gummy gum myrrh gum myrtle gum nut gum of ivy gum olibanum gum over platinum gum-paper gum passage gum plant gum-platinum gum pot gum print gum printing gum-rash gum resin gum rockrose gum sandarac gum sangapenum gum-seal gum-senegal gumshoe gum silk gum stick gum-succory gum-sucker gum-taffeta

gum-thistle gum thus gum tragacanth gum tree gum turpentine gum (verb) gum water gum wood, gumwood gum-worker hog gum karaya gum Kordofan gum locust bean gum log gum manna gum mastic gum mountain gum natural gum red gum ribbon gum slum gum, slumgum snow gum sonora gum sour gum spotted gum spruce gum sterculia gum sugar gum, sugar-gum sweet gum, sweet gum-tree tara gum ungum white gum xanthan gum York gum

Related terms

• gumma
• gummatous
• gummic acid
• gummiferous
• gummite
• gummose
• gummosis
• gummosity
• gummous

Translations

sticky substance exuded by certain plants

Estonian: vaik (et), kummi (et) French: gomme (fr) f. German: Kautschuk (de) m.

Portuguese: resina (pt) f. Spanish: goma (es) f. Turkish: kauçuk (tr)

sticky substance resembling that exuded by certain plants

French: gomme (fr) f.

Turkish: kauçuk (tr)

chewing gum — see chewing gum

single piece of chewing gum

Armenian: ծամոն (hy) (çamon) Chinese: Mandarin: 口香糖 (cmn) (kǒuxiāngtáng) Estonian: näts (et) French: chewing-gum (fr) m.

German: Kaugummi (de) n. Portuguese: chiclete (pt) m., goma de mascar (pt) f. Spanish: chicle (es) Swedish: tuggummi (sv) n.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

• Ido: gumo (3)
• Spanish: goma f. (1 and/or 2), chicle m. (3)
• Swedish: gummi n. (1,2), tuggummi n. (3)

Verb

gum (third-person singular simple present gums, present participle gumming, simple past and past participle gummed)

1. To apply an adhesive or gum to.
2. (colloquial, with up) To impair the functioning of a thing or process.

   That cheap oil will gum up the engine valves.

   The new editor can gum up your article with too many commas.

Derived terms

• gum up
• gum up the works

Anagrams

• mug

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Lojban

Rafsi

gum

1. Rafsi of gunma.

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Scots

Etymology 1

English gum

Noun

gum (plural gums)

1. gum

Etymology 2

Origin uncertain; perhaps a specialised use of Etymology 1, above.

Alternative forms

• gumm

Noun

gum (plural gums)

1. mist, vapour, haze

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Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• gu
• gun

Conjunction

gum

1. that

   Tha mi cinnteach gum biodh e toilichte. - I'm certain that he would be happy.

Usage notes

• Used before b, f, m and p.