# mum

Pronunciation: say "MUM" /mʌm/

## Noun

1. A mother, often used as a name when speaking to or about one's own. *(colloquial, Commonwealth, Ireland)*
   - Simple: A mother, or the name a child uses for their own mother.
   - _I rang my mum from the station to say the train was running late._
   - _Mums and dads lined the touchline to cheer on the under-tens._
3. A chrysanthemum, either the plant or one of its flowers. *(US)*
   - Simple: A chrysanthemum, a kind of flower that people grow in gardens and pots.
   - _A single bronze mum was still blooming by the fence after the first frost._
   - _The garden center lined its entrance with potted mums in every shade of red and gold._
5. A large decoration, now usually an artificial flower with ribbons, traditionally worn by girls at high-school homecoming. *(US)*
   - Simple: A flower decoration with ribbons and the wearer's name and school, worn by girls at high school homecoming.
   - _By the homecoming kickoff, nearly every girl in the student section had a mum pinned to her shirt, ribbons trailing._
   - _Her grandmother saved every mum from her high school years, the faded ribbons still showing her name and class year._

## Adjective

2. Saying nothing, especially about something that is meant to stay secret. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Not saying anything, especially to keep a secret.
   - _The senator has been mum on whether she will run for a third term._
   - _The children were mum at the dinner table, each waiting for the other to confess._

## Interjection

6. Used to tell someone to stop talking or to say no more.
   - Simple: Used to tell someone to be quiet and stop talking.

## Noun

4. Silence, or the state of keeping quiet. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Being quiet and not saying anything.
7. Dated spelling of ma'am: a polite word for addressing a woman, especially as used by servants. *(dated)* — Alternative spelling of ma'am.
   - Simple: Old-fashioned spelling of ma'am: a polite word used when speaking to a woman, as servants did.
   - _"Will that be all, mum?" the cook asked her employer before going back down to the kitchen._
   - _The porter touched his hat to the lady and said, "Your trunk is on the coach, mum."_

## Verb

8. To make someone or something silent. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: To make someone or something stop making noise.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To perform as an actor in a pantomime or a dumb show.
- (noun) A kind of strong beer that was first brewed in Brunswick, Germany.

## Origin

**Meaning 1** — Either a variant of mam or a shortening of mummy; compare mom and mama.
**Meanings 3, 5** — A shortening of chrysanthemum.
**Meanings 2, 4, 6, 8** — Mum comes from Middle English mum or mom, meaning "silent." These forms imitate the muffled noise of someone who is gagged or whose mouth is covered by a hand. A connection with Mumme, a dated German word for "mask," is possible.
**Meaning 7** — A variant of ma'am.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mum (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).