rum

¹

[ ruhm ]

noun

1. an alcoholic liquor or spirit distilled from molasses or some other fermented sugar-cane product.
2. alcoholic drink in general; intoxicating liquor:

   He warned against the demon rum.

rum

²

[ ruhm ]

adjective

, Chiefly British Informal.

1. odd, strange, or queer:

   a rum fellow.

2. problematic; difficult; bad:

   a rum situation.

rum

³

[ ruhm ]

noun

, Cards.

1. rummy ¹.

Rum

⁴

[ room ]

noun

1. Arabic name of Rome, once used to designate the Byzantine Empire.

Rum.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. Rumania. See Romania.
2. Rumanian. See Romanian. Also Rum

rum

¹

/ rʌm /

noun

1. spirit made from sugar cane, either coloured brownish-red by the addition of caramel or by maturation in oak containers, or left white

rum

²

/ rʌm /

adjective

1. slang.
   strange; peculiar; odd

rum

³

/ rʌm /

noun

1. short for rummy 1

Derived Forms

• ˈrumness, noun
• ˈrumly, adverb

Other Words From

• rumless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rum¹

First recorded in 1645–55; perhaps short for obsolete rumbullion, rumbustion, of obscure origin

Origin of rum²

First recorded in 1750–60; earlier rome, room “great,” of uncertain origin; perhaps from Romani; Rom

Origin of rum³

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; by shortening

Word History and Origins

Origin of rum¹

C17: perhaps shortened from C16 rumbullion , of uncertain origin

Origin of rum²

C19: perhaps from Romany rom man

Example Sentences

At the time, the building held about 4.5 million litres of whisky and more than 140,000 litres of rum.

From BBC

Coffey admitted in court that he supplied the girl with rum and touched her inner thigh and breasts, according to the Department of Justice.

From Los Angeles Times

As much as I am not a sailor, I do understand the power of fresh whipped cream . . . and rum.

From Salon

Regatta Cream Pie is a version of a rum cream pie with a crisp chocolate cookie crumb crust.

From Salon

It has a heavy hit of dark rum, which my sailors appreciate regardless of how well they performed on the water.

From Salon