Etymology: < Anglo-Norman soume, soumme, sum, sume, Anglo-Norman and Old French summe, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French some, somme (French somme ) substance, gist, main point (early 12th cent.), amount of money or goods (late 12th cent.), quantity of people (late 12th cent.), totality, whole (end of the 12th cent.), number resulting from the addition of several other numbers (mid 13th cent.), summary, compendium (mid 13th cent. with reference to a chronicle of historical events, 13th cent. in Anglo-Norman and 15th cent. in continental French with reference to a treatise summarizing a topic), total amount (early 14th cent., earliest in somme toute ) < classical Latin summa total number or amount, (specified) amount of money, full extent, whole of a thing, (of a discourse) substance, gist, culmination, completion, in post-classical Latin also treatise summarizing a topic (frequently from 12th cent. in British and continental sources), use as noun (short for summa res highest thing, summa pars highest part) of feminine of summus highest < sup- , stem of super above, superus higher (see super- prefix) + -mus , suffix forming superlatives. Compare soum n.², summa n.¹Compare Old Occitan soma , somma , Catalan suma , Italian somma (all 13th cent.), Spanish suma (c1200), Portuguese soma (14th cent.), and also Old Frisian summe (West Frisian som ), Middle Dutch somme (Dutch som ), Middle Low German summe , Middle High German summe (German Summe ), Old Swedish summa (Swedish summa ). Specific forms. With the vowel variation in Older Scots compare number n. Specific senses. With sense 1d compare sum n.²

Etymology: Partly (i) < Anglo-Norman sume, summe, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French somme, Middle French some (French somme ) burden of a beast of burden (c1140), beast of burden (end of the 12th cent.), unit of measure of certain commodities (late 13th cent. or earlier, e.g. with reference to wheat, oats, barley, salt; < post-classical Latin sauma , salma : see below), and partly (ii) < post-classical Latin summa, somma (from 11th cent. in British sources; also in continental sources), variants of sauma, salma packsaddle, burden of a beast of burden (a636 in Isidore), measure for liquids and solids (9th cent.), alteration of sagma packsaddle (Vetus Latina, Vulgate) < ancient Greek σάγμα covering, cloak, in Hellenistic Greek also packsaddle < the stem of σάττειν to pack, load ( < the same Indo-European base as thong n.) + -μα , suffix, forming nouns (see -oma comb. form). Compare soum n.¹ and earlier seam n.²The French forms reflect regular phonological developments in the language, with Anglo-Norman u showing raising of o before a nasal. Although association with Old French somme or classical Latin summa sum n.¹ has sometimes been suggested, such an assumption is unnecessary.

Etymology: Partly (i) < Anglo-Norman and Middle French sommer, Middle French sumer, summer (French sommer ) to achieve, accomplish (something) (late 12th cent. in Old French), to give (something) in the form of a sum total (13th cent.), to summon (a person) (c1250), to find the sum of (a number of elements) (end of the 13th cent.), to summarize (something) (14th cent.) < somme , summe sum n.¹, and partly (ii) < post-classical Latin summare to bring to the culminating point (4th cent.), to sum up, to include in a reckoned total (from 12th cent. in British sources), to count up (14th cent. in a British source; also in continental sources) < classical Latin summa sum n.¹Compare Old Occitan somar , Spanish sumar (both 13th cent.), Catalan sumar (1401), Portuguese somar , Italian sommare (both 14th cent.), and also Old Frisian summēria , Middle Low German summēren , Middle High German sumieren (German summieren ), Old Swedish summēra (Swedish summera ). In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix).

Etymology: Imitative. Compare also bum v.², hum v.¹Compare Middle Low German summen, Middle High German (in late sources), German summen.

Etymology: < early Scandinavian (Old Icelandic sem , Old Swedish som , sum , (runic) sem (Swedish som , (regional) sum ), Old Norwegian, Norwegian som , †sum , Old Danish sem , sæm , som , sum , sam (Danish som ), all as conjunction and relative pronoun), apparently reflecting forms with reduced pronunciation under low stress (in North Germanic) of the Germanic base of Old English same (chiefly in swā same : see note), Old Saxon sama , Old High German sama , adverbs (see same adj. and compare -some suffix¹).With so sum (in sense A., especially in the Ormulum, compare quot. c1175¹; < so adv. and conj. + sum adv.) compare Old Icelandic svá sem , Old Swedish sva sum (Swedish såsom , now only as conjunction), Old Danish swo som , sva sum (Danish såsom , now only as conjunction), and also Old English swā same , adverb, Old High German sōsama , Old Saxon sō samo , both adverb and conjunction. Compare also so as at so adv. and conj. 20a. With sense B. compare -some suffix³ and also somever adv. Regional distribution. The word occurs in manuscripts from areas of former Scandinavian settlement in the north midlands and northern England, most frequently in the Ormulum and in some manuscripts of Cursor Mundi.