Hum vs Mum - What's the difference?
hum | mum |
A hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed.
An often indistinct sound resembling human humming.
* Shakespeare
Busy activity, like the buzz of a beehive.
(UK, slang) unpleasant odour.
(dated) An imposition or hoax; humbug.
(obsolete) A kind of strong drink.
To make a sound from the vocal chords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed.
To express by humming.
To drone like certain insects naturally do in motion, or sounding similarly
* 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 2
To buzz, be busily active like a beehive
To produce low sounds which blend continuously
(British) To reek, smell bad.
(British) To deceive, or impose on one by some story or device.
(transitive, dated, slang) To flatter by approving; to cajole; to impose on; to humbug.
hmm; an inarticulate sound uttered in a pause of speech implying doubt and deliberation.
(UK, Australia, Canada, New England, informal) Mother.
* 1993 , Hilda Hollingsworth, Places of Greater Safety , Zenobia Press edition,
* 2004 , Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen, Irene Dunlap, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2 ,
* 2006 , ,
* 2011 , Chyna, FAM: Rolling in a London Girl Gang ,
(dated) A term of respect for an older woman.
* 1840 , , Volume 1, 1851,
* 1885 , , 2011,
(colloquial) silent.
* Shakespeare
(colloquial) secret.
stop speaking! hush!
* Shakespeare
to act in a pantomime or dumb show
(obsolete) silence
A sort of strong beer, originally made in Brunswick, Germany.
In lang=en terms the difference between hum and mum
is that hum is an imposition or hoax; humbug while mum is a term of respect for an older woman.In obsolete terms the difference between hum and mum
is that hum is a kind of strong drink while mum is silence.As nouns the difference between hum and mum
is that hum is a hummed tune, i.e. created orally with lips closed while mum is mother.As verbs the difference between hum and mum
is that hum is to make a sound from the vocal chords without pronouncing any real words, with one's lips closed while mum is to act in a pantomime or dumb show.As interjections the difference between hum and mum
is that hum is hmm; an inarticulate sound uttered in a pause of speech implying doubt and deliberation while mum is stop speaking! hush.As an adjective mum is
silent.As a proper noun Mum is
one's mother.hum
English
(wikipedia hum)Noun
(en noun)- They could hear a hum coming from the kitchen, and found the dishwasher on.
- the shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums
- (Beaumont and Fletcher)
Verb
(humm)- We are humming happily along with the music.
- to hum a tune
- ''The hazers ominously hummed "We shall overcome" while they paddled the unruly pledges
- A slight gloom fell upon the table. Jacob was helping himself to jam; the postman was talking to Rebecca in the kitchen; there was a bee humming at the yellow flower which nodded at the open window.
- 'The streets were humming with activity.''
- This room really hums — have you ever tried spring cleaning, mate?
Derived terms
* hummer * hummingbird * humming-topSynonyms
* bumble * bustle * hustle * buzz * croon * whirAnagrams
*Interjection
(en interjection)- (Alexander Pope)
mum
English
Alternative forms
* mam * mom, Mom (US) * MumEtymology 1
Alternative form of mam, or an abbreviation of mummy. Compare mom, mama.Noun
(en noun)page 278,
- 'Ooh Mum', Auntie don?t allow smokin’ - Pat?s eyes were round with awe as ' Mum struck a match.
page 336,
- Her mum says that she is deaf and only partially sighted, so I need to go and stand in front of her, so she can see the gift.
page 88,
- “Mum'! '''Mum'''!” he shouted out. The laughter stopped. Two bright, sparkling yellow eyes peeped from the hollow. Atop her head were the fluffy ear tufts that his '''mum''' was so proud of because they were fuller and lovelier than those of most Great Horned Owls. It was indeed his ' mum !
unnumbered page,
- He?s looking at my mum , at her swollen eyes, busted nose and bloodied lips. She?s mashed up something chronic, and the man who did this to her is my dad.
page 130,
- “Wy, mum',” said Mr. Weller, “I don?t think you?ll see a many sich, and that?s the truth. But if my son Samivel vould give me my vay, '''mum , and dis-pense with his—''might I wenter to say the vurd?”
- “What word Mr Weller?” said the housekeeper, blushing slightly.
- “Petticuts, mum ,” returned that gentleman, laying his had upon the garments of his grandson. “If my son Samivel vould only dis-pense vith these here, you?d see sich a alteration in his appearance, as the imagination can?t depicter!”
unnumbered page,
- Then she took off the hank and looked me straight in the face, and very pleasant, and says:
- “Come, now, what?s your real name?
- “Wh -- what, mum ?”
- “What?s your real name? Is it Bill, or Tom, or Bob? -- Or what is it?”
Usage notes
Mum is only capitalized when used as a proper noun: * I don't think Mum will like you. * I don't think my mum will like you. *In New England, the word may still be spelt "mom", but it will have the pronunciation of "mum."Synonyms
* See alsoEtymology 2
Abbreviation of chrysanthemum.Etymology 3
From (etyl) mum or .Adjective
(-)- The citizens are mum , and speak not a word.
Derived terms
* keep mum * mum's the wordInterjection
- Mum , then, and no more.
Verb
(mumm)Noun
(-)- (Hudibras)
Etymology 4
(etyl) Mummere, named after Christian Mumme, who first brewed it in 1492.Noun
(-)- (Addison)
- The clamorous crowd is hushed with mugs of mum . — Alexander Pope.