scum
/skʌm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.71 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A layer of impurities that accumulates at the surface of a liquid (especially molten metal or water).
Uncountable
noun
A greenish water vegetation (such as algae), usually found floating on the surface of ponds
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "During smelting, scum rises to the surface and is then removed by the smelter."
- "These organisms form scum in large quantities."
- "Horse, who was always talking about facts, said, “Man, that can't be scum, ’cause scum is white.”"
- "People who sell used-up pens are scum, just total low-lives."
- "Some scumd the drosse, that from the metall came; / Some stird the molten owre with ladles great[…]."
- "Take the smallest Cucumbers you can get, and as free from Spots as possible, put them into a strong Salt and Water for nine or ten Days, or 'till they are quite Yellow, and stir them twice a Day at least, or they will scum over, and grow soft"
Etymology
From Middle English scum, scome, skum, skome, scumme, from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch schūme (“foam”), from Old Dutch *scūm, from Frankish *skūm, from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, conceal”). Cognate with Dutch schuim (“foam”), West Frisian skuum, German Schaum (“foam”), Danish and Swedish skum (“foam”). Compare also French écume (“scum”), Italian schiuma (“foam”), Saterland Frisian Skuum, Sicilian scuma (“foam”), Walloon schome (“scum, foam”), Lithuanian šamas (“catfish”) and skanus (“tasty”) from the same Germanic source. Related to skim.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: scum, -, schūme, *scūm, *skūm, *skūmaz
Usage
- Uncountable
- Countable
- American usage
- Slang
- Derogatory
- Obsolete
- Informal