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