Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gum arabic

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.68 in modern English

Syllables: gum ara-bic
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An edible substance taken from one of two species of sub-Saharan acacia trees, Senegalia senegal and Vachellia seyal, used in the food industry as a stabilizer (e.g. in soda, gumdrops and marshmallows) and other purposes including pharmaceuticals, paints and polishes.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

gum + Arabic; the name was used in Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages since the 9th century (صَمْغ عَرَبِيّ (ṣamḡ ʕarabiyy)), and retained in the languages of Europeans who first acquired it via Arab ports.

Usage

Inflected Forms

gums arabic (plural) gum-arabic (alternative) gumarabic (alternative)

Phrases

gum arabic tree

Synonyms

E414 when used as a thickener stabiliser emulsifier gum acacia acacia gum Arabian gum Arabic gum acacia Senegal gum Indian gum Kordofan gum

Questions

What does gum arabic mean?: An edible substance taken from one of two species of sub-Saharan acacia trees, Senegalia senegal and Vachellia seyal, used in the food industry as a stabilizer (e.g. in soda, gumdrops and marshmallows) and other purposes including pharmaceuticals, paints and polishes.
Where does gum arabic come from?: gum + Arabic; the name was used in Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages since the 9th century (صَمْغ عَرَبِيّ (ṣamḡ ʕarabiyy)), and retained in the languages of Europeans who first acquired it via Arab ports.

How to pronounce gum arabic

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “gum arabic”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “gum arabic”.
Repeat and practice — Say “gum arabic” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.