mum1
[muhm]
- silent; not saying a word: to keep mum.
- say nothing! be silent!
- 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 of mum1
1350–1400; Middle English momme; imitative
mum2
or mumm
[muhm]
- to say “mum”; call for silence.
- to act as a mummer.
Origin of mum2
1350–1400; Middle English mommen, v. use of mum1; compare Middle Dutch mommen to act the mummer's part
mum3
[muhm]
Origin of mum3
shortened form
mum4
[muhm]
Origin of mum4
1815–25; nursery word; see mom
mum5
[muhm]
- a strong beer or ale, first made in Brunswick, Germany.
Origin of mum5
First recorded in 1630–40, mum is from the German word Mumme, said to have been named after the brewer who made it
mum6
[muhm]
Origin of mum6
variant of ma'am
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mum
Contemporary Examples
I think maybe it was the justification he used for that and how he treated my mum for having what he thought was an affair.
“Mum was living in fear as well we were trapped,” Cumming tells me.
The family was "happy, but my parents were broke, my mum made my clothes, my dad said we moved when the rent was due," he told me.
He even took a few wobbly first steps (with a little assistance from his mum, of course).
Suddenly she is cast adrift without the bank of mum and dad.
Historical Examples
You were the little clerk who sat so mum in the corner, and then cried fy on the gleeman.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
Ye haven't; then I very much doubt if ye'll see him this day, mum.
Jennie Baxter, JournalistRobert Barr
"I'm afraid as how the house was too quiet for Mr. Grierson, mum," she wound up.
People of PositionStanley Portal Hyatt
If you please, Mum, it's below the waist; I think I can manage with the dummy.
Joy (First Series Plays)John Galsworthy
And if you should chance to meet this party again, remember, mum's the word.'
Against OddsLawrence L. Lynch
mum1
- mainly British an informal word for mother 1
Word Origin
C19: a child's word
mum2
- keeping information to oneself; silent
- mum's the word silence or secrecy is to be observed
Word Origin
C14: suggestive of closed lips
mum3
mumm
- (intr) to act in a mummer's play
Word Origin
C16: verbal use of mum ²
mum4
- British obsolete a type of beer made from cereals, beans, etc
Word Origin
C17: from German Mumme, perhaps from the name of its original brewer
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for mum
interj.
"be silent," 1560s, from Middle English mum, mom (late 14c.), inarticulate closed-mouth sound, indicative of unwillingness or inability to speak. As an adjective meaning "secret" from 1520s. Phrase mum's the word is first recorded 1704.
n.1
abbreviation of chrysanthemum, first attested 1915 in the jargon of gardeners.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper