Webster's English Dictionary

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gum

Cross references:
  1. mucilage              
 
1. gum \'g*m\ n [ME gome, fr. OE go-ma palate; akin to OHG guomo palate, 
   G]k chaos abyss : the tissue that surrounds the necks of teeth and covers 
   the alveolar par ts of the jaws; broadly : the alveolar portion of a jaw 
   with its enveloping soft tissues
2. gum vt or gummed;  or gum.ming 1: to enlarge gullets of (a saw)  2: to 
   chew with the gums 
3. gum \-.wu.d\ \.g*-'mif-(*-)r*s\ n also gum.wood [ME gomme, fr. OF, fr. L 
   cummi, gummi, fr. Gk kommi, fr]. Egypt qmybreve>t 1a: any of numerous 
   colloidal polysaccharide substances of plant origin tha t are gelatinous 
   when moist but harden on drying and are salts of complex organic acids 1b: 
   any of various plant exudates (as a mucilage, oleoresin, or gum resin)  2: 
   a substance or deposit resembling a plant gum (as in sticky or adhesive  
   quality) 3a: a tree (as a sour gum or sapodilla) that yields gum  Austral  
   3b: EUCALYPT  4: the wood or lumber of a gum; esp : that of the sweet gum  
   5: CHEWING GUM  - gum.mif.er.ous aj
4. gum vb or gummed;  or gum.ming : to smear, seal, or clog with or as if 
   with gum {~ up the works)> 1: to exude or form gum  2: to become gummy  - 
   gum.mer n