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Chum
Definitions
- 1 A surname.
- 1 A friend; a pal. dated
"He looked down upon the girl beside him—a daughter of the desert walking across the face of a dead world with a son of the jungle. He smiled at the thought. He wished that he had had a sister, and that she had been like this girl. What a bully chum she would have been!"
- 2 A mixture of (frequently rancid) fish parts and blood, dumped into the water as groundbait to attract predator fish, such as sharks. Canada, US, uncountable
"Near-synonym: shark bait"
- 3 A coarse mould for holding the clay while being worked on a whirler, lathe or manually.
"...self-supporting chum within the mould normally of corresponding and almost the same but lesser contour, whereby a space is provided between the chum and mould for the introduction of the powdered material and means for expanding the chum'."
- 4 Synonym of chum salmon.
- 5 A temporary dwelling used by the nomadic Uralic reindeer herders of northwestern Siberia.
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- 6 a large Pacific salmon with small spots on its back; an important food fish wordnet
- 7 A roommate, especially in a college or university. dated
"Field had a 'chum,' or room-mate, whose visage was suggestive to the 'Sophs;' it invited experiment; it held out opportunity for their peculiar deviltry."
- 8 bait consisting of chopped fish and fish oils that are dumped overboard to attract fish wordnet
- 9 a close friend who accompanies their buddies in their activities wordnet
- 1 To share rooms with someone; to live together. intransitive
"Henry Wotton and John Donne began to be friends when, as boys, they chummed together at Oxford, where Donne had gone at the age of twelve years."
- 2 To cast chum into the water to attract fish. ambitransitive
"He began to chum for sharks, using whale oil and chopped whale meat."
- 3 To lodge (somebody) with another person or people. transitive
- 4 To make friends; to socialize. intransitive
"I was not surprised to see somebody sitting aft, on the deck, with his legs dangling over the mud. You see I rather chummed with the few mechanics there were in that station, whom the other pilgrims naturally despised—on account of their imperfect manners, I suppose."
- 5 To accompany. Scotland, informal, transitive
"I'll chum you down to the shops."
Etymology
1675–85; of uncertain origin, possibly from cham, shortening of chambermate, or from comrade. Less likely from Welsh cymrawd (“fellow”), compare brawd (“brother”).
1675–85; of uncertain origin, possibly from cham, shortening of chambermate, or from comrade. Less likely from Welsh cymrawd (“fellow”), compare brawd (“brother”).
Originally American English, from the 1850s. Perhaps from Powhatan.
Originally American English, from the 1850s. Perhaps from Powhatan.
From Chinook Jargon tzum (“spotted, marked”), from Chinook.
From Russian чум (čum), from Komi-Zyrian чум (ćum) and/or Udmurt чум (ćum, “tent, shelter”).
Borrowed from Czech.
See also for "chum"
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