Chum

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /t͡ʃʌm/

Definitions

1. A close friend or companion; bait used in fishing to attract fish by scattering chopped fish parts or blood into the water; to fish by throwing bait into the water to lure fish
2. A buddy or intimate friend; a mixture of fish parts thrown in water to draw fish near; the action of tossing such bait to improve fishing catch
3. A pal or good mate; cut-up fish or other attractant used to lure fish in angling; the process of dispersing this bait into water to entice fish closer

Etymology: Chum is one of those words whose origin nobody has pinned down. Its earliest recorded English sense dates to the 1675–85 period, and the leading guesses are that it shortened "chambermate," a roommate, or that it came from "comrade." A Welsh source, "cymrawd" meaning "fellow," is considered less likely. The word's American career is more striking. From the 1850s it was used in American English, and one suggestion traces it to Powhatan, the language of Native peoples in Virginia, though that remains a proposal rather than a settled fact. A separate line runs through Chinook Jargon, a trade language of the Pacific Northwest, where "tzum" meant "spotted" or "marked." How that sense connects to friendship is unclear. Meanwhile, the same spelling belongs to an unrelated word. "Chum" in the sense of a tent or shelter comes from Russian "chum," borrowed from Komi-Zyrian and Udmurt, Uralic languages spoken in the Russian north. Its Evenk relative, also meaning a tent, shows the word travelled widely across Siberia.

Synonyms: friend, buddy, pal, comrade, mate

Antonyms: enemy, foe, rival, opponent, stranger