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mummy

 [muhm-ee]   Example Sentences Origin

mum·my

1   [muhm-ee] noun, plural -mies, verb, -mied, -my·ing.
noun
1.
the dead body of a human being or animal preserved by the ancient Egyptian process or some similar method of embalming.
2.
a dead body dried and preserved by nature.
3.
a withered or shrunken living being.
4.
a dry, shriveled fruit, tuber, or other plant organ, resulting from any of several fungous diseases.
verb (used with object)
5.
to make into or cause to resemble a mummy; mummify.

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Mummy is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to bark; yelp.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
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Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English mummie < Medieval Latin mummia < Arabic mūmiyah mummy, literally, bitumen < Persian mūm wax

Related forms
un·mum·mied, adjective
Example Sentences
  • It would be better for her, he said, to have a mummy.
  • The crafty one swallowed the big chocolate when mummy was lookingThe new driver drove away the car.
  • The rare pre-Inca mummy was masked and entombed with a child sacrifice.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

mum·my

2   [muhm-ee]
noun, plural -mies. Chiefly British.
mother.
Origin:
1815–25; mum4 + -y2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To mummy
Collins
World English Dictionary
mummy1 (ˈmʌmɪ)
 
—n , pl -mies
1.  an embalmed or preserved body, esp as prepared for burial in ancient Egypt
2.  obsolete the substance of such a body used medicinally
3.  a mass of pulp
4.  a dark brown pigment
 
[C14: from Old French momie, from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic mūmiyah asphalt, from Persian mūm wax]

mummy2 (ˈmʌmɪ)
 
—n , pl -mies
chiefly (Brit) a child's word for mother
 
[C19: variant of mum1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

mummy
c.1400, "medicine prepared from mummy tissue," from M.L. mumia, from Arabic mumiyah "embalmed body," from Pers. mumiya "asphalt," from mum "wax." Sense of "embalmed body" first recorded in English 1610s. Mummy wheat (1842) was said to be cultivated from grains found in mummy-cases.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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