bum

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "bum"

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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

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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
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  • 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
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Verb

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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

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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

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Terms derived from senses associated with etymology 1

Etymology 2

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

Noun

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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
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Verb

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

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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
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Derived terms

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Terms derived from senses associated with etymology 2

Etymology 3

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Back-formation from bum out.

Verb

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

  1. To depress; to make unhappy.
Usage notes
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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

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Etymology 4

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See boom.

Noun

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bum (plural bums)

  1. (dated) A humming noise.

Verb

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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

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Etymology 5

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Abbreviation.

Noun

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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
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References

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  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

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Albanian

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Etymology

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From English boom with orthographic adaptation.

Noun

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bum

  1. (economics) boom

Indonesian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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

  1. boom barrier, boom gate (a bar or pole that can be lowered or raised to controll the traffic)
  2. (figurative) customs (government agency that handles taxes of imported goods)
    Synonyms: bea cukai, duane, pabean

Etymology 2

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From English boom, a onomatopoeic word.

Noun

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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

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Irish

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Etymology

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

Noun

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bum m (genitive singular bum, nominative plural bumanna)

  1. (sailing) boom

Declension

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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

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Mutation

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Mutated forms of bum
radical lenition eclipsis
bum bhum mbum

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

Mizo

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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bum

  1. swindle
  2. cheat
  3. trick

Polish

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

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bum

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

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Dutch boom.

Noun

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bum m inan

  1. Alternative form of bom
Declension
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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

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Borrowed from English boom.

Noun

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bum m inan

  1. Alternative form of boom
Declension
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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

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  • 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

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Pronunciation

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  • Rhymes: -ũ
  • Hyphenation: bum

Etymology 1

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Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

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bum!

  1. boom (sound of explosion)

Etymology 2

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From English boom.

Noun

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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

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

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bum

  1. boom

Serbo-Croatian

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Verb

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bum (Cyrillic spelling бум)

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

Spanish

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

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

Interjection

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¡bum!

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

See also

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Further reading

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Transylvanian Saxon

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Noun

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bum m

  1. tree

References

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Umbrian

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Romanization

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bum

  1. Romanization of 𐌁𐌖𐌌

Volapük

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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bum (nominative plural bums)

  1. act of building

Declension

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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

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Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Numeral

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bum

  1. Soft mutation of pum (“five”).

Mutation

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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.

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