WikiWord

English

gaum

/ɡɔːm/ · noun

Meaning

  1. Heed; attention.
  2. To understand; comprehend; consider.
  3. To smear.
  4. Grime.
  5. A bit, a small amount.
  6. A useless person.
  7. Alternative form of gorm (to make a mess of).
  8. A village.

Etymology / origin

The noun is from dialectal (Northern) English, from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaum, gaumr (“heed, attention”), from Proto-Germanic *gaumō (“attention”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰowe- (“to heed, pay attention”). The verb is from Middle English *gomen, from the noun. Compare native Middle English yemen, from Old English ġīeman (“to care for, heed”), and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌿𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaumjan, “observe”).

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