bum
noun
- tramp, vagrant; habitual loafer; beggar, scrounger
noun
- buttocks, rump, bottom
adjective
- defective
verb
- to mooch, scrounge, take advantage of
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /bʌm/
adj
Etymology: 1864, back-formation from bummer, from German Bummler (“loafer”), from bummeln (“to loaf”).
- Of poor quality or highly undesirable.
“What kind of bum note was that??”
“The defensive line made a bum rush on the quarterback.”
- Unfair.
“The union reps gave us a bum deal!”
- Injured and without the possibility of full repair, defective.
“I can’t play football anymore on account of my bum knee.”
- Unpleasant or unhappy.
“He had a bum trip on that mescaline.”
intj
Etymology: Attested since the 1300s, as Middle English bom (found in John Trevisa's 1387 Translation of the 'Polychronicon' of Ranulph Higden, "his bom is oute"), of uncertain origin. Sometimes suggested to be a shortening of botme, botom, bottum (“bottom”), but this is contradicted by the fact that bottom is not attested in reference to the buttocks until the late 1700s. Suggested by some old and modern references to be onomatopoeic. Compare also Old Irish, Scottish Gaelic bun (“base, bottom”). The anal sex senses (noun and verb), as well as the adjective (esp. the first) sense, are expletive-avoiding (i.e. Bowdlerized) shortenings of bumfuck.
- An expression of annoyance.
“(more vulgar)”
“Maxine tried hers. ‘Oh bum,’ she said crossly. ‘The sugar isn’t sugar. It’s salt.’”
noun
Etymology: Abbreviation.
- A bumbailiff.
“About her Chariot, and behind, / Were Sergeants, Bums of every kind, / Tip-staffs, and all those Officers, / That squeeze a Living out of Tears.”
verb
Etymology: See boom.
- To make a murmuring or humming sound.
“English men bum there [Stirling] as thick as bees.”