gum

B2 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ɡʌm/ See IPA manual

Freq #4708

Meanings

1

noun
A sweet, soft substance that you chew but do not swallow.

She offered me a piece of gum after lunch.
2

noun
The firm pink flesh in your mouth around the base of your teeth.

The dentist said my gums were healthy.
3

noun
A sticky substance that comes out of certain trees and plants.

Gum oozed slowly from the cut in the tree trunk.
4

verb
To stick or cover something with a sticky substance.

The lock had been gummed up with dried paint.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the firm pink flesh in your... gingiva

Word family

Forms gummedgumminggums

Derived forms apple-gumbegumbox-gumbubble-gumbubblegumdegumdoctor-gumestergumfloodgumgum-boilergum-bucketgum-chewer

Related forms gummagummatousgummiferousgummitegummosegummosisgummositygummous

Appears in

Phrases (3)

See all

bubble gum
a type of chewing gum that can be stretched into bubbles with the mouth

Noun + noun
gum turpentine
a resinous substance obtained from conifer trees, especially pines

Noun + noun
kauri gum
a resin obtained from kauri trees and used in products such as varnish

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Gum meaning a sticky plant secretion can ultimately be traced through earlier languages to ancient Egyptian kemai. Its later applications include sweet pastilles from the early 19th century and chewing gum from the mid-19th-century United States. Gum for the tissue around the teeth has a separate origin in an Old English word for the inside of the mouth or throat.

Etymology

From Middle English gomme, gumme, borrowed from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian qmy (“anointing oil”), qmyt (“acanthus resin, gum”). Cognate with Spanish goma (“rubber”). Doublet of gumma.

gomme Middle English gome xno gumma la-lat cummi Latin κόμμι Ancient Greek qmy egy

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# gum

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɡʌm/
**Frequency rank:** 4708

## Meanings
1. A sweet, soft substance that you chew but do not swallow.
2. The firm pink flesh in your mouth around the base of your teeth.
3. A sticky substance that comes out of certain trees and plants.
4. To stick or cover something with a sticky substance.

## Examples
- She offered me a piece of gum after lunch.
- The dentist said my gums were healthy.
- Gum oozed slowly from the cut in the tree trunk.
- The lock had been gummed up with dried paint.

## Derived Forms
- apple-gum
- begum
- box-gum
- bubble-gum
- bubblegum
- degum
- doctor-gum
- estergum
- floodgum
- gum-boiler
- gum-bucket
- gum-chewer

## Related Forms
- gumma
- gummatous
- gummiferous
- gummite
- gummose
- gummosis
- gummosity
- gummous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gomme
- Root: gome
- Root: gumma
- Root: cummi
- Root: κόμμι
- Root: qmy

## Etymology
From Middle English gomme, gumme, borrowed from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian qmy (“anointing oil”), qmyt (“acanthus resin, gum”). Cognate with Spanish goma (“rubber”). Doublet of gumma.

## AI Etymology
Gum comes from Middle English gomme, gumme, borrowed from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι (kómmi), from Egyptian qmy (“anointing oil”), qmyt (“acanthus resin, gum”). Cognate with Spanish goma (“rubber”). Doublet of gumma. In current use, the main senses are “A sweet, soft substance that you chew but do not swallow” and “The firm pink flesh in your mouth around the base of your teeth”.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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gum