Gum

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ɡʌm/

Definitions

1. A soft, chewy substance often flavored, designed to be chewed and not swallowed ; a viscous, sticky liquid produced by some trees used for various purposes ; the fleshy, pink tissue surrounding and supporting the teeth in the mouth
2. An edible product made to be chewed for freshening breath or enjoyment ; a natural syrupy material exuded from certain tree bark that hardens upon exposure to air ; the part of the oral cavity that holds the teeth and can swell or bleed if irritated
3. A flavored material that people chew for pleasure or to freshen breath but do not swallow ; a glue-like secretion from plants which can be collected and used as adhesive or stabilizer ; oral soft tissue that covers the jawbone and encases the teeth roots

Etymology: The gum in your mouth is named after the roof of it. Old English "gōma" meant palate, and cognates such as German "Gaumen" and Danish "gumme" (gums) keep that sense of the tissue inside the mouth. The root reaches back further to Latin "hio" and Greek "chaskō," both meaning to gape or yawn, so the word may first have described the open mouth. The sticky substance is a different word that happens to look the same. It came into English through Old French "gomme" from Latin "gummi," itself borrowed from Greek "kommi," a name for tree resins. The tree sap and the tissue of the mouth share a spelling but not an origin. The chewable product grew out of the resin sense, since the sticky plant substance was the thing people chewed. The word's two senses therefore meet in the one object, even though their roots lie in different places.

Synonyms: adhesive, resin