scum

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a film of foam, dirt, impurities, or vegetation that forms on the surface of a liquid

   A thin layer of scum collected on the stagnant pond.

2. 2
   noun

   an insulting term for a contemptible person or group of people

   The speaker denounced his opponents as scum, drawing criticism for the dehumanizing language.

3. 3
   verb

   to remove a layer of scum from the surface of a liquid

   The worker used a ladle to scum the impurities from the molten metal.

Common collocations

• pond scum Noun + noun

From Middle English scum, probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German schume ("foam"), ultimately Germanic. The contemptuous human sense arose by metaphor from the unwanted impurities floating on a liquid's surface.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images