fume

See also: fumé and fumê

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French fum (“smoke, steam, vapour”), from Latin fūmus (“vapour, smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós (“smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). More at dun, dusk, dust.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /fjuːm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːm

Noun

fume (plural fumes)

1. A gas or vapour/vapor that is strong-smelling or dangerous to inhale.

   Don't stand around in there breathing the fumes while the adhesive cures.

   • T. Warton

     the fumes of new shorn hay

2. A material that has been vaporized from the solid or liquid state to the gas state and re-coalesced to the solid state.

   Lead fume is a greyish powder, mainly comprising lead sulfate.

3. Rage or excitement which deprives the mind of self-control.

   the fumes of passion

   (Can we find and add a quotation of South to this entry?)

4. Anything unsubstantial or airy; idle conceit; vain imagination.
   • Francis Bacon

     a show of fumes and fancies

5. The incense of praise; inordinate flattery.
   • Burton

     to smother him with fumes and eulogies

Usage notes

• In the sense of strong-smelling or dangerous vapor, the noun is typically plural, as in the example.

Translations

gas or vapor that is strong-smelling or dangerous to inhale

• Bulgarian: дим (bg) m (dim), изпарение (bg) n (izparenie)
• Finnish: höyry (fi), huuru (fi)
• German: Rauch (de) m, Qualm (de) m
• Italian: fumo (it) m
• Maori: hau kino

• Polish: opar (pl) m
• Portuguese: vapor (pt) m
• Russian: испарение (ru) n (isparenije)
• Spanish: humo (es) m
• Turkish: duman (tr) pl

material that has re-coalesced to the solid state

• Finnish: härme

• Turkish: is (tr)

rage or excitement

• Finnish: kiihko (fi)

anything unsubstantial or airy

• Finnish: houre (fi)

incense of praise; inordinate flattery

• Finnish: hehkutus (fi)

Verb

fume (third-person singular simple present fumes, present participle fuming, simple past and past participle fumed)

1. To emit fumes.
   • Milton

     where the golden altar fumed

   • Roscommon

     Silenus lay, / Whose constant cups lay fuming to his brain.

2. To expose something (especially wood) to ammonia fumes in order to produce dark tints.
3. To feel or express great anger.

   He's still fuming about the argument they had yesterday.

   • Dryden

     He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground.

   • Sir Walter Scott

     Her mother did fret, and her father did fume.

4. To be as in a mist; to be dulled and stupefied.
   • Shakespeare

     Keep his brain fuming.

5. To pass off in fumes or vapours.
   • Cheyne

     Their parts are kept from fuming away by their fixity.

Translations

to emit fumes

• Bulgarian: димя (bg) (dimja), пуша (bg) (puša)
• Danish: ryge (da)
• Finnish: höyrytä (fi), päästää kaasua
• German: rauchen (de), qualmen (de)
• Norwegian: ryke (no)

• Portuguese: fumegar (pt)
• Romanian: fumega (ro)
• Spanish: humear (es)
• Turkish: tütmek (tr)

to expose something to fumes

• Finnish: höyryttää (fi)

• Turkish: kül (tr)

to feel or express great anger

• Arabic: إِسْتِشَاط غَضَبًا‎ (ʾistišāṭ ḡaḍaban), ثَار‎ (ṯār)

  Egyptian Arabic: ثار‎ (saar)

• Bulgarian: гневя се (gnevja se), ядосвам се (jadosvam se)
• Finnish: olla raivoissaan (to feel); vaahdota (fi), raivota (fi) (to express)
• French: fulminer (fr)

• German: schäumen (de)
• Italian: rodersi il fegato, mangiarsi il fegato
• Portuguese: fumegar (pt)
• Spanish: echar humo (colloquial)
• Turkish: köpürmek (tr)

to be as in a mist; to be dulled and stupefied

• Finnish: olla sekaisin

to pass off in fumes or vapours

• Finnish: pyörtyä höyryihin

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Asturian

Verb

fume

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of fumar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of fumar

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [fym]

Verb

fume

1. first-person singular present indicative of fumer
2. third-person singular present indicative of fumer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of fumer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of fumer
5. second-person singular imperative of fumer

Anagrams

• meuf

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Galician

Verb

fume

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of fumar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of fumar

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Latin

Noun

fūme

1. vocative singular of fūmus

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Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French fum, from Latin fũmus, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós.

Alternative forms

• fwme, feum, fewme

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fiu̯m/

Noun

fume (plural fumes)

1. Visible gaseous emanations; fumes or smoke.
2. Any sort of vapour or gaseous emanation.
3. (physiology) Fumes as the supposed cause of feelings.
4. (rare) An airborne scent or odour.

Related terms

• fumen
• fumerelle
• fumosite
• fumous
• fumygacioun
• fumyter

Descendants

• English: fume
• Scots: fume

References

• “fūme (n.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-03.

Etymology 2

From Old French fumer.

Verb

fume

1. Alternative form of fumen

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfu.mi/

Verb

fume

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of fumar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of fumar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of fumar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of fumar

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Spanish

Verb

fume

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of fumar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of fumar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of fumar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of fumar.

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Tarantino

Noun

fume

1. smoke