gum

/ɡʌm/

gum

English Noun Top 4,741

American (Lessac) (medium)

Female 0.5s

American (Amy) (medium)

Female 0.6s

American (Ryan) (medium)

Male 0.3s

Definition

The flesh around the teeth.

Etymology

From Middle English gome, from Old English gōma (“palate”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōmō, from Proto-Germanic *gōmô, *gaumô (“palate”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂u-mo-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂w- (“to gape, yawn”). See also German Gaumen, Old Norse gómr, Icelandic gómur; also Tocharian A ko, Tocharian B koyṃ (“mouth”), Lithuanian gomurỹs (“palate”). More at yawn.