Adjacent Words

Mum definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MUM, a. [See Mumble, Mumm, and Mummery.]
1. Silent; not speaking.
The citizens are mum; say not a word.
2. As an exclamation or command, be silent; hush.
Mum the, and no more proceed.
3. As a noun, silence.
MUM, n. A species of malt liquor much used in Germany. It is made of the malt of wheat, seven bushels, with one bushel of oat meal and a bushel of ground beans, or in the same proportion. This is brewed with 63 gallons of water, and boiled till one third is evaporated.
MUM'-CHANCE, n. A game of hazard with dice. [Local.]
1. A fool. [Local.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to; "the witness remained silent" [syn: mum, silent] n
1: of China [syn: florist's chrysanthemum, florists' chrysanthemum, mum, Dendranthema grandifloruom, Chrysanthemum morifolium]
2: informal terms for a mother [syn: ma, mama, mamma, mom, momma, mommy, mammy, mum, mummy]
3: secrecy; "mum's the word"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English mom, momme, probably imitative of a sound made with closed lips Date: 14th century silent <keep mum> II. intransitive verb (mummed; mumming) Etymology: Middle English mommen, to mumble, perform (a mummer's play), probably in part from mom, in part from Middle French momer to go masked Date: 1530 1. to perform in a pantomime 2. to go about merrymaking in disguise during festivals III. noun Etymology: German Mumme Date: 1640 a strong ale or beer IV. chiefly British variant of mom V. noun Date: 1917 chrysanthemum

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. Brit. colloq. mother. Etymology: abbr. of MUMMY(1) 2. adj. colloq. silent (keep mum). Phrases and idioms: mum's the word say nothing. Etymology: ME: imit. of closed lips 3. v.intr. (mummed, mumming) act in a traditional masked mime. Etymology: cf. MUM(2) and MLG mummen

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mum Mum, a. [Of imitative origin. Cf. Mumble.] Silent; not speaking. --Thackeray. The citizens are mum, and speak not a word. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mum Mum, interj. Be silent! Hush! Mum, then, and no more. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mum Mum, n. Silence. [R.] --Hudibras.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mum Mum, n. [G. mummere, fr. Christian Mumme, who first brewed it in 1492.] A sort of strong beer, originally made in Brunswick, Germany. --Addison. The clamorous crowd is hushed with mugs of mum. --Pope.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(mums) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Your mum is your mother. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, usually use mom) He misses his mum... Mum and Dad are coming for lunch... Don't worry, Mum... N-FAMILY 2. If you keep mum or stay mum about something, you do not tell anyone about it. (INFORMAL) He is keeping mum about his feelings on the matter. = keep quiet PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Silent, mute, speechless, dumb.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

An interjection directing silence. Mum for that; I shall be silent as to that. As mute as Mumchance, who was hanged for saying nothing; a friendly reproach to any one who seems low-spirited and silent.

Moby Thesaurus

anaudic, aphasic, aphonic, breathless, brief, brusque, close, close-tongued, closemouthed, concise, curt, dumb, dumbfounded, dumbstricken, dumbstruck, economical of words, inarticulate, indisposed to talk, laconic, ma, mam, mama, mammy, mater, mom, mommy, mummy, mute, old woman, quiet, short, silent, snug, sparing of words, speechless, stricken dumb, taciturn, terse, tight-lipped, tongue-tied, tongueless, unloquacious, untalkative, voiceless, word-bound, wordless