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Webster 1913 Edition

Gum

Gum

,
Noun.
[OE.
gome
, AS.
gama
palate; akin Co G. g
aumen
, OHG.
goumo
,
guomo
, Icel.
g[GREEK]mr
, Sw.
gom
; cf. Gr. [GREEK] to gape.]
The dense tissues which invest the teeth, and cover the adjacent parts of the jaws.
Gum rash
(Med.)
,
strophulus in a teething child; red gum.
–
Gum stick
,
a smooth hard substance for children to bite upon while teething.

Gum

,
Verb.
T.
To deepen and enlarge the spaces between the teeth of (a worn saw). See
Gummer
.

Gum

,
Noun.
[OE.
gomme
,
gumme
, F.
gomme
, L.
gummi
and commis, fr. Gr. [GREEK], prob. from an Egyptian form
kam[GREEK]
; cf. It.
gomma
.]
1.
A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens when it exudes, but is soluble in water;
as,
gum
arabic;
gum
tragacanth; the
gum
of the cherry tree
. Also, with less propriety, exudations that are not soluble in water;
as,
gum
copal and
gum
sandarac, which are really resins
.
2.
(Bot.)
See
Gum tree
,
below
.
3.
A hive made of a section of a hollow gum tree; hence, any roughly made hive; also, a vessel or bin made of a hollow log.
[Southern U. S.]
4.
A rubber overshoe.
[Local, U. S.]
Black gum
,
Blue gum
,
British gum
, etc.
See under
Black
,
Blue
, etc.
–
Gum Acaroidea
,
the resinous gum of the Australian grass tree (
Xanlhorrhœa
).
–
Gum animal
(Zool.)
,
the galago of West Africa; – so called because it feeds on gums. See
Galago
.
–
Gum animi or animé
.
See
Animé
.
–
Gum arabic
, a gum yielded mostly by several species of
Acacia
(chiefly
A. vera
and
A. Arabica
) growing in Africa and Southern Asia; – called also
gum acacia
. East Indian gum arabic comes from a tree of the Orange family which bears the elephant apple.
–
Gum butea
,
a gum yielded by the Indian plants
Butea frondosa
and
B. superba
, and used locally in tanning and in precipitating indigo.
–
Gum cistus
,
a plant of the genus
Cistus
(
Cistus ladaniferus
), a species of rock rose.
–
Gum dragon
.
See
Tragacanth
.
–
Gum elastic
,
Elastic gum
.
See
Caoutchouc
.
–
Gum elemi
.
See
Elemi
.
–
Gum juniper
.
See
Sandarac
.
–
Gum kino
.
See under
Kino
.
–
Gum lac
.
See
Lac
.
–
Gum Ladanum
, a fragrant gum yielded by several Oriental species of Cistus or rock rose.
–
Gum passages
,
sap receptacles extending through the parenchyma of certain plants (
Amygdalaceæ
,
Cactaceæ
, etc.), and affording passage for gum.
–
Gum pot
, a varnish maker’s utensil for melting gum and mixing other ingredients.
–
Gum resin
,
the milky juice of a plant solidified by exposure to air; one of certain inspissated saps, mixtures of, or having properties of, gum and resin; a resin containing more or less mucilaginous and gummy matter.
–
Gum sandarac
.
See
Sandarac
.
–
Gum Senegal
, a gum similar to gum arabic, yielded by trees (
Acacia Verek
and
A. Adansoniä
) growing in the Senegal country, West Africa.
–
Gum tragacanth
.
See
Tragacanth
.
–
Gum water
,
a solution of gum, esp. of gum arabic, in water.
–
Gum wood
,
the wood of any gum tree, esp. the wood of the
Eucalyptus piperita
, of New South Wales.

Gum

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Gummed
(gŭmd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Gumming
.]
1.
To smear with gum; to close with gum; to unite or stiffen by gum or a gumlike substance; to make sticky with a gumlike substance.
He frets like a
gummed
velvet.
Shakespeare

Gum

,
Verb.
I.
To exude or form gum; to become gummy.

Webster 1828 Edition

Gum

GUM

,
Noun.
The hard fleshy substance of the jaws which invests the teeth.

GUM

,
Noun.
[L. gummi.] The mucilage of vegetables; a concrete juice which exudes through the bark of trees, and thickens on the surface. It is soluble in water, to which it gives a viscous and adhesive quality. It is insoluble in alcohol, and coagulates in weak acids. When dry, it is transparent and brittle, not easily pulverized, and of an insipid or slightly saccharine taste. Gum differs from resin in several particulars, but custom has inaccurately given the name of gum to several resins and gum-resins, as gum-copal. gum-sandarach, gum-ammoniac, and others. The true gums are gumarabic, gum-senegal, gum-tragacanth,and the gums of the peach, plum and cherry trees, &c.
Gum-elastic, or Elastic-gum, [caoutchouc,] is a singular substance, obtained from a tree in America by incision. It is a white juice, which, when dry, becomes very tough and elastic, and is used for bottles,surgical instruments, &c.

GUM

,
Verb.
T.
To smear with gum.
1.
To unite by a viscous substance.

Definition 2024

gum

gum

See also: GUM

English

Noun

gum ‎(plural gums)

  1. (often in the plural) The flesh around the teeth.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

gum ‎(third-person singular simple present gums, present participle gumming, simple past and past participle gummed)

  1. To chew, especially of a toothless person or animal.
  2. (transitive) To deepen and enlarge the spaces between the teeth of (a worn saw), as with a gummer.

Etymology 2

From Middle English gomme, gumme, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman gome, from Late Latin gumma, from Latin cummi, gummi, from Ancient Greek κόμμι ‎(kómmi), from Egyptian ḳmj-t (qemỵt, qemài) "acanthus resin".

Noun

gum ‎(countable and uncountable, plural gums)

  1. (uncountable) Any of various viscous or sticky substances that are exuded by certain plants.
  2. (uncountable) Any viscous or sticky substance resembling those that are exuded by certain plants.
  3. (uncountable) Chewing gum.
  4. (countable) A single piece of chewing gum.
    Do you have a gum to spare?
  5. (South Africa, often in the plural) A gummi candy.
  6. (US, dialect, Southern US) A hive made of a section of a hollow gum tree; hence, any roughly made hive.
  7. (US, dialect, Southern US) A vessel or bin made from a hollow log.
  8. (US, dialect) A rubber overshoe.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Verb

gum ‎(third-person singular simple present gums, present participle gumming, simple past and past participle gummed)

  1. (sometimes with up) To apply an adhesive or gum to; to make sticky by applying a sticky substance to.
    • 2012, Julie Hedgepeth Williams, A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells' Story of Survival (ISBN 1603061169), page 184:
      However, Albert said in his audiotape and in his speech that a lever designed to release the lifeboat's block and tackle was gummed up with red paint.
  2. To stiffen with glue or gum.
    • Shakespeare
      He frets like a gummed velvet.
  3. (colloquial, with up) To impair the functioning of a thing or process.
    That cheap oil will gum up the engine valves.
    The new editor can gum up your article with too many commas.

Derived terms

Anagrams

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡum/
  • Rhymes: -um

Noun

gum

  1. genitive plural of guma

Lojban

Rafsi

gum

  1. rafsi of gunma.

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡum/

Noun

gum f pl

  1. genitive plural of guma

Scots

Etymology 1

From English gum.

Noun

gum ‎(plural gums)

  1. gum

Etymology 2

Origin uncertain; perhaps a specialised use of Etymology 1, above.

Alternative forms

  • gumm

Noun

gum ‎(plural gums)

  1. mist, vapour, haze

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

Conjunction

gum

  1. that
    Tha mi cinnteach gum biodh e toilichte. - I'm certain that he would be happy.

Usage notes

  • Used before b, f, m and p.

Turkmen

Noun

gum ‎(definite accusative }}}, plural }}})

  1. sand

Zazaki

Noun

gum ?

  1. (anatomy) cheek

Etymology

From Middle English gome, from Old English gōma ‎(“palate”), from Proto-Germanic *gōmô, *gaumô ‎(“palate”) (compare German Gaumen, Old Norse gómr (whence Icelandic gómur)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂u-mo- (compare Tocharian A ko, Tocharian B koyṃ ‎(“mouth”), Lithuanian gomurỹs ‎(“palate”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂w- ‎(“to gape, yawn”). More at yawn.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: gŭm, IPA(key): ɡʌm
  • Rhymes: -ʌm

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