Wiktionary

bum

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bum"

English edit

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /bʌm/
  • Audio (CA)(file)
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌm

Etymology 1 edit

Attested since the 1300s,[1][2][3] as Middle English bom[1] (found in John Trevisa's 1387 Translation of the 'Polychronicon' of Ranulph Higden, "his bom is oute"), of uncertain origin.[1] Sometimes suggested to be a shortening of botme, botom, bottum (“bottom”), but this is contradicted by the fact that bottom is not attested in reference to the buttocks until the late 1700s.[4][5] Suggested by some old[4] and modern references to be onomatopoeic.[3] Compare also Old Irish, Scottish Gaelic bun (“base, bottom”).

Noun edit

bum (plural bums)

  1. (informal or childish, chiefly Commonwealth) The buttocks.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:buttocks
    Okay, everyone sit on your bum and try and touch your toes.
  2. (informal or childish, chiefly Commonwealth) The anus.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:anus
    • 2013, Steven L. Ablon, Daniel P. Brown, Edward J. Khantzian, Human Feelings: Explorations in Affect Development and Meaning, page 132:
      John said that when he was little he stuck his finger in his bum and tasted his poopies and it was good.
    • 2015, Jonathan Nicholas, Who'd be a copper?: Thirty years a frontline British cop:
      What could the man possibly be hiding up his bum anyway?
    • 2016, Lisa Keenan-Lindsay, Cheryl Sams, Constance L. O'Connor, Maternal Child Nursing Care in Canada, page 118:
      Do you have intercourse (i.e., Do you penetrate your partner in the vagina or anus [bum]? Or does your partner penetrate your vagina or anus [bum])?
    • 2017, Jean Renvoize, Innocence Destroyed: A Study of Child Sexual Abuse:
      […] and said Daddy had put a finger up her bum.
Usage notes edit
  • While bum is most common in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, in Canada, bum is mainly used when speaking to young children, as in Everyone please sit on your bum and we'll read a story. In the United States, bum is not often used in this sense (though this may vary from dialect to dialect) except in conscious imitation of British English. The term butt is the most common term in North America except in professional contexts such as medical, legal, and scientific where buttocks is generally used or gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, etc. for the muscles specifically. Glutes is often used in sports medicine and bodybuilding. Ass (originally a dialectal variant of arse) is considered vulgar in North America, whereas backside, behind, and bottom are considered to be non-specific terms.
Translations edit

Verb edit

bum (third-person singular simple present bums, present participle bumming, simple past and past participle bummed)

  1. (UK, Ireland, transitive, colloquial) To sodomize; to engage in anal sex.
    • 2016 December 3, “Soph Aspin Send”, performed by Millie B:
      Your bars are fake and my bars are real / Is it true you got bummed on a field

Interjection edit

bum

  2. (UK, Ireland, childish, euphemistic) An expression of annoyance.
    Synonym: arse (more vulgar)
    • 2010, Jill Mansell, Sheer Mischief‎[1]:
      Maxine tried hers. 'Oh bum,' she said crossly. 'The sugar isn't sugar. It's salt.'

Derived terms edit

Terms derived from senses associated with etymology 1

Etymology 2 edit

1864, back-formation from bummer, from German Bummler (“loafer”), from bummeln (“to loaf”).

Noun edit

bum (plural bums)

  2. (colloquial, sometimes derogatory) A homeless person, usually a man.
    Synonyms: tramp, vagrant, wanderer, vagabond; see also Thesaurus:vagabond
  3. (colloquial, sometimes derogatory) A lazy, incompetent, or annoying person, usually a man.
    Synonyms: loafer, bumpkin, footler; see also Thesaurus:idler
    Fred is becoming a bum - he's not even bothering to work more than once a month.
    That mechanic's a bum - he couldn't fix a yo-yo.
    That guy keeps interrupting the concert. Throw the bum out!
    • 1987, “Fairytale of New York”, performed by The Pogues:
      You're a bum / You're a punk / You're an old slut on junk / Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
    • 1988, Michael Weikath (lyrics and music), “Keeper of the Seven Keys”, in Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II, performed by Helloween:
      Man who do you just think you are? / A silly bum with seven stars
  4. (colloquial, sports) A player or racer who often performs poorly.
    Trade him to another team, he's a bum!
  5. (colloquial) A drinking spree.
    Synonyms: binge, bender
Translations edit

Verb edit

bum (third-person singular simple present bums, present participle bumming, simple past and past participle bummed)

  1. (transitive, colloquial) To ask someone to give one (something) for free; to beg for something.
    Synonyms: (British) cadge; see also Thesaurus:scrounge
    Can I bum a cigarette off you?
  2. (intransitive, colloquial) To stay idle and unproductive, like a hobo or vagabond.
    Synonym: loiter
    I think I'll just bum around downtown for a while until dinner.
  3. (transitive, slang, British) To wet the end of a marijuana cigarette (spliff).
Descendants edit
  • → French: bummer
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: bomma
Translations edit

Adjective edit

bum (comparative bummer, superlative bummest)

  1. (slang) Of poor quality or highly undesirable.
    bum note
  2. (slang) Unfair.
    a bum deal
  3. (slang) Injured and without the possibility of full repair, defective.
    Synonym: (UK) duff
    I can't play football anymore on account of my bum knee.
  4. (slang) Unpleasant or unhappy.
    He had a bum trip on that mescaline.
Quotations edit
Translations edit

Derived terms edit

Terms derived from senses associated with etymology 2

Etymology 3 edit

Back-formation from bum out.

Verb edit

bum (third-person singular simple present bums, present participle bumming, simple past and past participle bummed)

  1. To depress; to make unhappy.

References edit

Etymology 4 edit

See boom.

Noun edit

bum (plural bums)

  1. (dated) A humming noise.

Verb edit

bum (third-person singular simple present bums, present participle bumming, simple past and past participle bummed)

  1. (intransitive) To make a murmuring or humming sound.
    • 1722, William Hamilton, The Wallace:
      English men bum there [Stirling] as thick as bees.

Etymology 5 edit

Abbreviation.

Noun edit

bum (plural bums)

  1. (obsolete) A bumbailiff.
    • 1705, Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees:
      About her Chariot, and behind, / Were Sergeants, Bums of every kind, / Tip-staffs, and all those Officers, / That squeeze a Living out of Tears.

References edit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “bum”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  2. ^ “bum”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “bum”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. (which quotes the OED)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 John Stephen Farmer, William Ernest Henley, Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present: A Dictionary (1890), "bum"
  5. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “bottom”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams edit

Albanian edit

Etymology edit

From English boom with orthographic adaptation.

Noun edit

bum

  1. (economics) boom

Indonesian edit

 
Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): [ˈbʊm]
  • Hyphenation: bum

Etymology 1 edit

From Dutch slagboom (“boom barrier, boom gate”) or boom (“beam, barrier, tree, pole”), from Middle Dutch bôom, from Old Dutch bōm, from Proto-Germanic *baumaz. Doublet of bom.

Noun edit

bum (first-person possessive bumku, second-person possessive bummu, third-person possessive bumnya)

  1. boom barrier, boom gate
  2. (figuratively) customs
Alternative forms edit
Synonyms edit

Etymology 2 edit

From English boom, onomatopoeic.

Noun edit

bum (first-person possessive bumku, second-person possessive bummu, third-person possessive bumnya)

  1. (economics, business) boom: a period of prosperity, growth, progress, or high market activity.

Further reading edit

Irish edit

Etymology edit

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun edit

bum m (genitive singular bum, nominative plural bumanna)

  1. (sailing) boom

Declension edit

Declension of bum

Fourth declension

Bare forms

Case Singular Plural
Nominative bum bumanna
Vocative a bhum a bhumanna
Genitive bum bumanna
Dative bum bumanna

Forms with the definite article

Case Singular Plural
Nominative an bum na bumanna
Genitive an bhum na mbumanna
Dative leis an mbum

don bhum

leis na bumanna

Synonyms edit

Mutation edit

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
bum bhum mbum
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Mizo edit

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

bum

  1. swindle
  2. cheat
  3. trick

Polish edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection edit

bum

  1. boom (sound of explosion)
  2. bang (any brief, sharp, loud noise)

Etymology 2 edit

Borrowed from Dutch boom.

Noun edit

bum m inan

  1. Alternative form of bom
Declension edit
Declension of bum
singular plural
nominative bum bumy
genitive bumu bumów
dative bumowi bumom
accusative bum bumy
instrumental bumem bumami
locative bumie bumach
vocative bumie bumy

Etymology 3 edit

Borrowed from English boom.

Noun edit

bum m inan

  1. Alternative form of boom
Declension edit
Declension of bum
singular plural
nominative bum bumy
genitive bumu bumów
dative bumowi bumom
accusative bum bumy
instrumental bumem bumami
locative bumie bumach
vocative bumie bumy

Further reading edit

  • bum I in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • bum II in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • bum in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese edit

Pronunciation edit

  • Rhymes: -ũ
  • Hyphenation: bum

Etymology 1 edit

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection edit

bum!

  1. boom (sound of explosion)

Etymology 2 edit

From English boom.

Noun edit

bum m (plural buns)

  1. boom (a rapid expansion or increase)
    • 2023, Djalma do Nascimento Sousa, chapter 145, in Memórias do Sul do Maranhão, Maranhão, published 2023, page VIII:
      O "bum" do gado só veio com a crise do arroz no final de 80 para início de 90;
      The cattle boom only came with the rice crisis in the late 80s and early 90s;

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection edit

bum

  1. boom

Serbo-Croatian edit

Verb edit

bum (Cyrillic spelling бум)

  1. (Kajkavian) first-person singular future of biti

Spanish edit

Etymology edit

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈbum/ [ˈbũm]
  • Rhymes: -um
  • Syllabification: bum

Interjection edit

¡bum!

  1. boom (used to suggest the sound of an explosion)
  2. boom (used to suggest something happening suddenly and unexpectedly)

See also edit

Further reading edit

Transylvanian Saxon edit

Noun edit

bum m

  1. tree

References edit

Umbrian edit

Romanization edit

bum

  1. Romanization of 𐌁𐌖𐌌

Volapük edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

bum (nominative plural bums)

  1. act of building

Declension edit

declension of bum
singular plural
nominative bum bums
genitive buma bumas
dative bume bumes
accusative bumi bumis
vocative 1 o bum! o bums!
predicative 2 bumu bumus
  • 1 status as a case is disputed
  • 2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

Derived terms edit

Welsh edit

Pronunciation edit

Numeral edit

bum

  1. Soft mutation of pum (“five”).

Mutation edit

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
pum bum mhum phum
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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