bum

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
See also: Appendix:Variations of "bum"

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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

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
  • 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, bottom and rear are considered to be non-specific terms.
Translations

Verb

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

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

Terms derived from senses associated with etymology 1

Etymology 2

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

Noun

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

Verb

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
  • → French: bummer
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: bomma
Translations

Adjective

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
Derived terms
Translations

Derived terms

Terms derived from senses associated with etymology 2

Etymology 3

Back-formation from bum out.

Verb

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

  1. To depress; to make unhappy.
Usage notes

This expression is typically found in the passive voice or with the subject it. Thus one might use sentences such as

 It really bums me when it rains on a weekend.
 I get bummed every time my vacation ends.

But one would not normally say

 Mosquitos and horseflies bum me every time I go to the lake.

References

Etymology 4

See boom.

Noun

bum (plural bums)

  1. (dated) A humming noise.

Verb

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.

Derived terms

Etymology 5

Abbreviation.

Noun

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.
Derived terms

References

  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

Albanian

Etymology

From English boom with orthographic adaptation.

Noun

bum

  1. (economics) boom

Indonesian

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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

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

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

Etymology 2

From English boom, onomatopoeic.

Noun

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

Irish

Etymology

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

Noun

bum m (genitive singular bum, nominative plural bumanna)

  1. (sailing) boom

Declension

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

Mutation

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

Pronunciation

Verb

bum

  1. swindle
  2. cheat
  3. trick

Polish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

bum

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

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Dutch boom.

Noun

bum m inan

  1. Alternative form of bom
Declension
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

Borrowed from English boom.

Noun

bum m inan

  1. Alternative form of boom
Declension
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

  • 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

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ũ
  • Hyphenation: bum

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

bum!

  1. boom (sound of explosion)

Etymology 2

From English boom.

Noun

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

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

bum

  1. boom

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

bum (Cyrillic spelling бум)

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

Spanish

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

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

Interjection

¡bum!

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

See also

Further reading

Transylvanian Saxon

Noun

bum m

  1. tree

References

Umbrian

Romanization

bum

  1. Romanization of 𐌁𐌖𐌌

Volapük

Pronunciation

Noun

bum (nominative plural bums)

  1. act of building

Declension

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

Welsh

Pronunciation

Numeral

bum

  1. Soft mutation of pum (“five”).

Mutation

Mutated forms of pum
radical soft nasal aspirate
pum bum mhum phum

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=bum&oldid=82628380"