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mum

 - 14 dictionary results

mum

1  [muhm]
Use mum in a Sentence
–adjective
1. silent; not saying a word: to keep mum.
–interjection
2. say nothing! be silent!
—Idiom
3. mum's the word, do not reveal what you know (about something); keep silent: Mum's the word, or the surprise party won't be a surprise.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME momme; imit.

mum

2  [muhm]
–verb (used without object), mummed, mum⋅ming.
1. to say “mum”; call for silence.
2. to act as a mummer.
Also, mumm.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME mommen, v. use of mum 1 ; cf. MD mommen to act the mummer's part

mum

3  [muhm]
–noun
chrysanthemum.
Origin:
shortened form

mum

4  [muhm]
–noun Chiefly British.
mother.
Origin:
1815–25; nursery word; see mom

mum

5  [muhm]
–noun
a strong beer or ale, first made in Brunswick, Germany.
Origin:
1630–40; < G Mumme, said to have been named after the brewer who made it

mum

6  [muhm]
–noun Chiefly British.
madam.
Origin:
var. of ma'am
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mum
mum 1   (mŭm)   
adj.  Not verbalizing; silent.
interj.  Used as a command to stop speaking.

[Middle English, perhaps imitative of closing one's lips.]
mum 2   (mŭm)   
intr.v.   mummed, mum·ming, mums

  1. To act or play in a pantomime.

  2. To go merrymaking in a mask or disguise especially during a festival.


[Middle English mummen, from Old French momer, to wear a mask.]
mum 3   (mŭm)   
n.   Chiefly British
Mother.

[Short for mummy2.]
mum 4   (mŭm)   
n.  A chrysanthemum.
mum 5   (mŭm)   
n.  A strong beer originally brewed in Brunswick, Germany.

[German Mumme.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mum  (interj.)
1568, from M.E. mum, mom "silent" (1377), imitative of the sound made with closed lips, as indicative of unwillingness or inability to speak. Phrase mum's the word is first recorded 1704.

mum  (n.1)
abbreviation of chrysanthemum, first attested 1924 in the jargon of gardeners.

mum  (n.2)
1823, pet word for "mother," short for mummy. In British sociology, used from 1957 in ref. to "the working class mother as an influence in the lives of her children."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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