Definitions for: Gum


[n] the tissue (covered by mucous membrane) of the jaws that surrounds the bases of the teeth
[n] a preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing
[n] any of various trees of the genera Eucalyptus or Liquidambar or Nyssa that are sources of gum
[n] wood or lumber from any of various gum trees especially the sweet gum
[n] cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive
[n] any of various substances (soluble in water) that exude from certain plants; they are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying
[v] exude or from gum; of certain trees
[v] grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty; of babies and old people



Webster (1913) Definition: Gum, n. [OE. gome, AS. gama palate; akin Co G. gaumen,
OHG. goumo, guomo, Icel. g?mr, Sw. gom; cf. Gr. ? to gape.]
The dense tissues which invest the teeth, and cover the
adjacent parts of the jaws.

Gum rash (Med.), strophulus in a teething child; red gum.


Gum stick, a smooth hard substance for children to bite
upon while teething.


Gum, v. t.
To deepen and enlarge the spaces between the teeth of (a worn
saw). See Gummer.


Gum, n. [OE. gomme, gumme, F. gomme, L. gummi and commis,
fr. Gr. ?, prob. from an Egyptian form kam?; cf. It.
gomma.]
1. A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens
when it exudes, but is soluble in water; as, gum arabic;
gum tragacanth; the gum of the cherry tree. Also, with
less propriety, exudations that are not soluble in water;
as, gum copal and gum sandarac, which are really resins.

2. (Bot.) See Gum tree, below.

3. A hive made of a section of a hollow gum tree; hence, any
roughly made hive; also, a vessel or bin made of a hollow
log. [Southern U. S.]

4. A rubber overshoe. [Local, U. S.]

Black gum, Blue gum, British gum, etc. See under
Black, Blue, etc.

Gum Acaroidea, the resinous gum of the Australian grass
tree (Xanlhorrh[oe]a).

Gum animal (Zo["o]l.), the galago of West Africa; -- so
called because it feeds on gums. See Galago.

Gum animi or anim['e]. See Anim['e].

Gum arabic, a gum yielded mostly by several species of
Acacia (chiefly A. vera and A. Arabica) growing in
Africa and Southern Asia; -- called also gum acacia.
East Indian gum arabic comes from a tree of the Orange
family which bears the elephant apple.

Gum butea, a gum yielded by the Indian plants {Butea
frondosa} and B. superba, and used locally in tanning
and in precipitating indigo.

Gum cistus, a plant of the genus Cistus ({Cistus
ladaniferus}), a species of rock rose.

Gum dragon. See Tragacanth.

Gum elastic, Elastic gum. See Caoutchouc.

Gum elemi. See Elemi.

Gum juniper. See Sandarac.

Gum kino. See under Kino.

Gum lac. See Lac.

Gum Ladanum, a fragrant gum yielded by several Oriental
species of Cistus or rock rose.

Gum passages, sap receptacles extending through the
parenchyma of certain plants (Amygdalace[ae],
Cactace[ae], etc.), and affording passage for gum.

Gum pot, a varnish maker's utensil for melting gum and
mixing other ingredients.

Gum resin, the milky juice of a plant solidified by
exposure to air; one of certain inspissated saps, mixtures
of, or having properties of, gum and resin; a resin
containing more or less mucilaginous and gummy matter.

Gum sandarac. See Sandarac.

Gum Senegal, a gum similar to gum arabic, yielded by trees
(Acacia Verek and A. Adansoni["a]) growing in the
Senegal country, West Africa.

Gum tragacanth. See Tragacanth.

Gum tree, the name given to several trees in America and
Australia:
(a) The black gum (Nyssa multiflora), one of the largest
trees of the Southern States, bearing a small blue
fruit, the favorite food of the opossum. Most of the
large trees become hollow.
(b) A tree of the genus Eucalyptus. See Eucalpytus.
(c) The sweet gum tree of the United States ({Liquidambar
styraciflua}), a large and beautiful tree with
pointedly lobed leaves and woody burlike fruit. It
exudes an aromatic terebinthine juice.

Gum water, a solution of gum, esp. of gum arabic, in water.


Gum wood, the wood of any gum tree, esp. the wood of the
Eucalyptus piperita, of New South Wales.


Gum, v. t. [imp. &. p. Gummed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Gumming.]
To smear with gum; to close with gum; to unite or stiffen by
gum or a gumlike substance; to make sticky with a gumlike
substance.

He frets likke a gummed velvet.Shak.


Gum, v. i.
To exude or from gum; to become gummy.

Synonyms: chewing gum, gingiva, glue, gum tree, mucilage, mumble

See Also: agar, agar-agar, algin, alginic acid, ammoniac, animal glue, animal tissue, balata, Bengal kino, bubble gum, butea gum, butea kino, carrageenan, carrageenin, casein glue, cement, cherry-tree gum, chew, chewing gum, chicle, chicle gum, confection, confectionery, conima, dragon's blood, eucalypt, eucalyptus, eucalyptus gum, eucalyptus kino, eucalyptus tree, euphorbium, exudate, exudate, exudation, exude, fish glue, frankincense, galbanum, ghatti, ghatti gum, guar gum, gum, gum acacia, gum albanum, gum ammoniac, gum arabic, gum ball, gum butea, gum eurphorbium, gum kino, gum olibanum, gum sangapenum, gumwood, gutta balata, gutta-percha, hazelwood, jaw, karaya gum, kino, kino gum, lacquer, liquidambar, liquidambar, manducate, marine glue, masticate, mesquite gum, mouth, olibanum, ooze, ooze out, opopanax, oral cavity, oral fissure, red gum, red gum, rima oris, sangapenum, satin walnut, sterculia gum, sweet, sweet gum, sweet gum, thus, tragacanth, transude, tree, tupelo, tupelo tree, wood

Try our:
Scrabble Word Finder

Scrabble Cheat

Words With Friends Cheat

Hanging With Friends Cheat

Scramble With Friends Cheat

Ruzzle Cheat



Related Resources:
animals beginning with y
animals beginning with b