Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Mother.
- intransitive verb To act or play in a pantomime.
- intransitive verb To go merrymaking in a mask or disguise especially during a festival.
- adjective Not verbalizing; silent.
- interjection Used as a command to stop speaking.
- idiom (mum's the word) Say nothing of the secret you know.
- noun A chrysanthemum.
- noun A strong beer originally brewed in Brunswick, Germany.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A strong ale popular in the seventeenth century and in use down to a later time.
- noun A dialectal variant of
ma'am for madam. - To mask; sport or make diversion in a mask: as, to go a mumming.
- Silent.
- To be silent; keep silence.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Silent; not speaking.
- adjective keep this a secret; don't tell anybody.
- interjection Be silent! Hush!
- noun rare Silence.
- noun A sort of strong beer, originally made in Brunswick, Germany.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective colloquial
silent . - adjective colloquial
secret . - interjection
stop speaking ! - verb to
act in apantomime ordumb show - noun chiefly UK, informal
Mother . - noun dated A term of respect for an older woman.
- noun A
chrysanthemum . - noun A sort of strong
beer , originally made inBrunswick ,Germany .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun secrecy
- adjective failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to
- noun of China
- noun informal terms for a mother
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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We came back to mine for a while and mum didn't mind that she was here. she was actually really nice and asked her about her exams and things, it was good. .mum even invited her to stay for dinner!!! but she had to go home, her own parents were expecting her home .... i missed her as oon as she left.
fragile-liar Diary Entry fragile-liar 2001
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Start preparing your script to respond to the ’strained’ greetings you will receive from mum & dad when you are next home nothing guarantees that a post WILL be read more than an imperative “Please don’t read this link mum& dad”, in any case superfluous since its content is divulged in subsequent responses – and you told us they recommended your blog to their friends!
the superficial 2006
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The only thing I sometimes pinch off my mum is her turn of phrase.
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That's so weird, saying Ilona i mean ... my mum is the other Ilona that commented.
Interview: Ilona Andrews Nalini Singh 2008
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It was called posh at school cause my mum is a pom.
Archive 2006-05-01 lili 2006
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It was called posh at school cause my mum is a pom.
the a to z of a lili lili 2006
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July 10th, 2009 4: 33 pm ET someone has found a huge skeleton in a closet, and it has a lot interesting things spilling out of its 'pockets, "mum" is the word ..
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I write a bloomin 'videogame blog that aims to elevate the medium above the general level of “Hey, fuck you, my mum is a classy lady” Xbox live discourse which, I occasionally suspect, may be a noble yet Sisyphean effort.
Archive 2008-12-01 Ben Abraham 2008
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I write a bloomin 'videogame blog that aims to elevate the medium above the general level of “Hey, fuck you, my mum is a classy lady” Xbox live discourse which, I occasionally suspect, may be a noble yet Sisyphean effort.
Going Gonzo Ben Abraham 2008
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Until now, Emma had decided to remain mum about where she was going to college.
sonofgroucho commented on the word mum
Informal word for mother in the UK IE UK equivalent of mom.
December 2, 2007
bilby commented on the word mum
Now we know. WeirdNET's mother was Chinese. That explains a few things.
December 2, 2007
reesetee commented on the word mum
It certainly does. Chinese is all Greek to me.
December 2, 2007
sonofgroucho commented on the word mum
Have you pair ever thought of forming a comedy double act?
December 2, 2007
reesetee commented on the word mum
I'd have to break my contract with uselessness first. ;-)
December 3, 2007
yarb commented on the word mum
Citation on blue devils.
September 12, 2008
missanthropist commented on the word mum
A kind of strong sweet beer... supposed to have been first brewed by Christin Mumme of Brunswick in 1489. We are informed that the exclamation mum! mum! is used to express satisfaction with good liquor, and the expression of admiration might easily be taken as the name of the liquor which excited the feeling... In the same way it may be conjectured that the liqueur, mentioned by our older dramatists under the name of hum, took it s name from the hum which in this country was a recognized expression of approbation.
Hensleigh Wedgwood, Dictionary of English Etymology, 1878
February 4, 2009
1528573493 commented on the word mum
Used as a term of respect, similar to "ma'am," though applicable to either men or women in certain Southern U.S. dialects (e.g. "Yes, mum").
December 23, 2009
jodi commented on the word mum
IrE; for AmE generally use mom instead.
April 5, 2011
hernesheir commented on the word mum
-- A History of Agriculture and Prices in England from the Year after the Oxford Parliament (1259) to the Commencement of the Continental War (1793), Arthur George Liddon Rogers, ed., 1887, p.749.
January 30, 2013