| 释义 |
▪ I. mum, n.1, int., and a.|mʌm|
Forms: 4–6 mom(me, 6 mume, 6–7 mumme, 7 mumbe, 8 mumm, 5– mum.
[Echoic; cf. G. mumm.]
A. n.
†1. An inarticulate sound made with closed lips, esp. as an indication of inability or unwillingness to speak. Also, in negative or hypothetical context = ‘(not) the slightest word’. Sometimes with omission of not: ‘not a word’. Obs.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 115 Thow myȝtest better mete the myste on Maluerne hulles, Than gete a momme of here mouthe but money were shewed. c1460Towneley Myst. xxi. 172 Though thi lyppis be stokyn yit myght thou say, mom. a1500London Lickpenny (MS. Harl. 542) iv, He would not geve me a momme of his mouthe. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 641/2 Tyndall neuer brought out yet eyther boke, lefe, or lyne to proue vs..that euer the ceremonies that he calleth now dumme, spake euer in old tyme so much as a mumme. 1651Lilly Chas. I (1774) 235 The Common Council assembled: but mum could he get there, for the word London-Derry was then fresh in every mans mouth.
2. Refusal to speak, silence. colloq.
1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 163 Mum hath a grace in thee far more than speeche. 1678Butler Hud. iii. ii. 1494 Entrust it under solemn Vows Of Mum, and Silence, and the Rose. 1890Pall Mall G. 7 Jan. 1/2 If the policy of ‘mum’ continues.
b. attrib.
1711Addison Spect. No. 9 ⁋6 The Mum Club (as I am informed) is an Institution of the same Nature, and as great an Enemy to Noise. 1797T. Park Sonn. 66 Doom'd by more severe mishap, To the mum-penance of La Trappe.
†c. A contest at ‘playing mum’ (see C. b). Obs.
1779Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 10 Mar., So, dear Madam, it is a mumm to see who will speak first.
†3. A silent person. (Cf. mome n.3) Obs.
1666Locke Let. to J. Alford in Gentl. Mag. (1797) LXVII. i. 97, I doe not in this advise you to be either a mumbe or morose. 1807–8W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 156 These silent members are..denominated orator mums.
B. int. A command to be silent or secret; ‘hush!’ ‘silence!’ ‘not a word!’ Also in phrases, † mum for that (obs.), mum's the word.
1399Title of poem (= ‘Rich. Redeles’) cited by Bale Index (Anecd. Oxon.), Mum, soth-segger! 1568U. Fulwell Like will to Like E iij, No more woords but mum & stand a while aside. 1605Shakes. Lear i. iv. 215 Mum, mum, he that keepes nor crust, nor crum, Weary of all, shall want some. 1687Montague & Prior Hind & P. Transv. 7 It has cost me some pains to clear Her Title. Well but Mum for that, Mr. Smith. a1704T. Brown Walk round Lond., Coffee-Houses Wks. 1709 III. iii. 39 But Mum's the Word—for who wou'd speak their Mind among Tarrs and commissioners. 1705Vanbrugh Country-Ho. ii, What does she play her jests upon me too?—but, mum, he laughs best that laughs last. a1814Woman's Will i. ii. in New Brit. Theatre IV. 47 The reason is obvious—But mum for that. 1852Miss Mulock Agatha's Husb. xxii, As to Cornwall,..between you and me, Mrs. Harper, mum's the word. 1892W. S. Gilbert Mountebanks 1, But, mum! I must be discreet.
C. adj. Strictly silent or secret, not saying a word. Sometimes quasi-adv., as to stand mum, etc. colloq. (now somewhat arch. exc. dial.)
1521in Foxe A. & M. (1583) 824/1 These comming to the Church..would say no prayers, but did sitte mumme..lyke beastes. c1530Redford Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 33 Let us not stay here muet and mum. 1600Holland Livy xxxii. xx. 820 When the publick cryer calleth you to give your opinions, ye are mum and mute. 1626–7in Crt. & Times Chas. I (1848) I. 96 Wonder not the great duke bore him out, and all stood mum. 1788Cowper Pity Poor Africans 5, I pity them [sc. slaves] greatly, but I must be mum, For how could we do without sugar and rum? 1834Tait's Mag. I. 421/2 Sing mum till the public affair is over. 1894R. Bridges Feast of Bacchus ii. 709 Don't stand there mum. 1894S. Weyman Under Red Robe i, I turned and they met my eye; and they were as mum as mice.
b. to play mum: to be silent. (Cf. mumbudget, mumchance.)
1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 412/2 Yet would he play mumme too, and neyther by himselfe nor his holy spiryte vouchesaufe to speake anye one woorde vnto them. 1625Gonsalvio's Sp. Inquis. 19 Which fetch of theirs whoso will wisely and warily auoid, must take heed he play mumme, and speak not one word, but premeditated..afore hand.
▪ II. mum, n.2 Now chiefly Hist.|mʌm|
Also 7 mumme, 9 mumm.
[a. G. mumme, recorded from the end of the 15th c.
Adelung's assertion, that this beer was so called from the name of Christian Mumme, who was a brewer at Brunswick c. 1487, is discredited by M. Heyne. Kluge quotes from G. Baist the remark that the word resembles It. mommo, a child's word for drink.]
A kind of beer originally brewed in Brunswick.
Largely imported into England in the 17th and 18th c.; now mentioned only Hist. and in customs tariffs.
1640H. Glapthorne Wallenstein iii. iii, I thinke you'r drunk With Lubecks beere or Brunswicks Mum. 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 118 The Mum at Brunswick is made of Wheat, and the Wheat that it is made of, is brought from..Magdenburg, and Shenibank..; when it comes to Brunswick it is Malted, and so made into Mum... But the Mum at Brunswick is a Medicine, and drinks very nauseous,..that which makes it good..is its being long at Sea. 1756Nugent Gr. Tour, Germany II. 243 The chief trade of the inhabitants [of Brunswick] is in tanning leather, and in brewing mum from a malt made of barley, with a small mixture of wheat, well hopped. Ibid., What they call ship-mum, is scarce drinkable, till it has purged itself at sea. 1851Thackeray Eng. Hum., Steele (1853) 119 This boy..exhibited an early fondness and capacity for drinking mum and sack. 1861― Four Georges i, I fancy the..burghers over their beer and mumm, rising up, cap in hand, as the cavalcade passes. 1894Act 57 & 58 Vict. c. 30 §25 The duties of Customs now payable on beer of the descriptions called mum, spruce, or black beer, imported into Great Britain or Ireland.
†b. attrib. and Comb., as mum-barrel, mum-beer; mum-begotten, mum-coloured adjs.; mum-catchup (see quot. 1769); mum-glass, (a) a glass used for drinking mum; (b) a slang name for the monument; mum-house, a house for the sale of mum. Obs.
1682–3in Hedges' Diary (Hakl. Soc.) II. 272, I sent you by Capt. Heath one *mum barril with mangoes.
1672Sir J. Foulis Acc. Bk. 15 June (S.H.S.) 7 For a pint of *mum bear..0. 8. 0. 1782–3W. F. Martyn Geog. Mag. II. 152 German exports to foreign countries are corn, tobacco..mum beer [etc.].
1699T. Brown Life Erasmus in R. L'Estrange Erasmus Colloq. (1725) B j, The Modern Dutch writers, who visit Frankfort Fair, once a Year, with two or three stupid *Mum-begotten Dissertations.
1769Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 339 To make *Mum Catchup. To a quart of old mum put four ounces of anchovies, of mace, and nutmegs sliced, one ounce, of cloves, and black pepper half an ounce, boil it till it is reduced one third.
1702Phil. Trans. XXIII. 1369 This Liquor was *Mum-coloured.
1684R. Waller Nat. Exper. 8 A tall Cup in the shape of a *Mum-glass. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Mum-glass, the Monument, erected..in Memory of the..Fire 1666.
1664Pepys Diary 3 May, I went..to the Fleece, a *mum-house in Leadenhall, and there drank mum.
▪ III. mum, n.3 dial. and colloq.|mʌm|
[Shortened form of mummy n.2]
1. a. A ‘pet’ name for ‘mother’.
1823Moor Suffolk Words 242 Where's your mum? 1876R. M. Jephson He would be a Soldier xviii, I saw the mum anxiously inquiring of her son who I was. 1876C. M. Yonge Three Brides I. xvi. 274 You'll never do anything with my Governor..you should hear him and the Mum talking. 1955M. Allingham Beckoning Lady vi. 88 Charlie Luke has a mum too, hasn't he? 1956I. Bromige Enchanted Garden iii. iii. 140 This will be our first holiday without the children for a good many years. It'll be good to be with Laurie as a wife and not a mum for a short time. 1960News Chron. 8 Feb. 3/4 The mums from Manchester and Mitcham dressed up in their Sunday best..had to listen to the principal's report. 1966Auden About House 15 The flesh Mum formulated. 1973A. S. Neill Neill! Neill! Orange Peel! ii. 223 Many married men address their wives as Mum.
b. Sociol. Used spec. to designate the working-class mother who is a dominating influence in the lives of her children, even in their adulthood and marriage.
1957Young & Willmott Family & Kinship in East London iii. 34 Where Mum plays so large a part in the lives of her descendants, she should be honoured for what she does... Since her status as ‘Mum’ is so high, it is derogatory to call her by any other name. 1958M. Kerr People of Ship Street ii. 22 The first characteristic which emerges clearly in this group is the central figure of the Mum. Whatever her personal qualities she is the focus of all the family activities. 1958Spectator 30 May 710/2 The Mum restricts her son-in-law's roles and most of the men in the neighbourhood seem to suffer accordingly. 1958Listener 11 Sept. 395/2 Many families who have been moved out of Bethnal Green..are in most cases perfectly wretched. They crave for their old associations, for Mum, the familiar pub, their pets and the old cosy squalor. 1959Ibid. 4 June 981/2 There is, however, some difference of opinion in the field of ‘Mum’ sociology.
c. Colloq. phr. to be mum, etc. = to be mother (see mother n.1 3 e).
1962N. Freeling Love in Amsterdam i. 37 ‘I'll be Mum,’ he said, and poured the coffee. 1965J. Potter Death in Office xv. 147, I did the chores as mum..the tea⁓tray ploy was one of the standard fitness tests for prospective employees.
2. Comb., as mum figure colloq., one who represents the attributes of a mother; = mother figure.
1959‘N. Blake’ Widow's Cruise 23 I'm a Mum figure—everyone coughs it up in my lap. 1960Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Sept. 589/1 His wife is a shadowy mum-figure who collects for good causes.
▪ IV. mum, n.4|mʌm|
Abbrev. of chrysanthemum. Also 'mum.
1924A. M. Martineau Gardening in Sunny Lands ii. 38 The gardeners call chrysanthemums ‘mums’. 1949[see cuke]. 1965J. Philips Black Glass City ii. ii. 62 A basket of bright-colored fall flowers..mums and asters. 1967‘E. Queen’ Face to Face lxiii. 197 The enormous basket-spray of shaggy 'mums. 1967Times 4 Apr. 18/1 (Advt.), Captivating Meteor Mums... These chrysanthemums..cascade into bloom in August. 1975M. H. Clark Where are Children? i. 16 The window boxes..were filled with yellow and champagne mums.
▪ V. mum, v.|mʌm|
[f. mum int. or n.1 Cf. G. mummen to mutter; also = sense 4 below.]
†1. trans. To silence; to put to silence. Obs.
1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 337 He was..y-Mummyd on þe mouthe and manaced to þe deth. 1594? Peele Battle of Alcazar i. Prol., Like those that were by kind of murther mumd. 1654Gayton Pleas. Notes iii. viii. 123 If it were possible they would muzle his mouth; but Gines is mumm'd presently.
†2. intr. To make an inarticulate sound with closed lips, indicating inability to speak; hence, to keep silence. Obs.
c1440Promp. Parv. 348/2 Mummyn, as þey þat noȝt speke, mutio. a1548Hall Chron., Rich. III, 32 b, Whiche thynge yf it had bene trewe..euery goode and naturall childe would have rather mummed at, then to have blasted abroade. 1576Gasgoigne Steele Gl. (Arb.) 83 Better mumme, than meddle ouermuch. 1637Shirley Example iv. ii, Jacinta... I may reward your silence. Vainman... And when must I Begin to mum?
†3. To utter a faint sound; to whisper. Obs.
c1460Towneley Myst. viii. 188 If thou can nother muf nor mom, I shalle shelde the from shame. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xii. 166 Ȝe dar not mum quhill Saidlar cum To se quhat Ingland sendis. c1680Roxb. Ball. (1887) VI. 370 They dare not mumm, if we say all's our own.
4. To act in dumb-show; to play as a mummer.
1530Palsgr. 642/1, I mumme in a mummynge, je mumme... Lette us go mumme to nyght in womens apparayle. 1554Act Merch. Co. in Mackenzie Newcastle II. 665 note, [Apprentices are not] to daunse, dyse, carde or mum, or use any gyttirnes. 1606Choice, Chance, etc. (1881) 50 After they had masked and mummed, away they went. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. x, When a whole People goes mumming and miming. 1900Ld. Rosebery Napoleon vi. 89 The characters who mum to Offenbach's music.
▪ VI. mum
vulgar var. ma'am. |