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mum·my ¹

(mŭmē)

n. pl. mum·mies

1. The dead body of a human or animal that has been embalmed and prepared for burial, as according to the practices of the ancient Egyptians.

2. A withered, shrunken, or well-preserved body that resembles an embalmed body.

[Middle English mummie, resin obtained from embalmed corpses and used as medicine, from Old French momie, from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic mūmiyā', mūmiyā, a kind of bitumen used to treat wounds and fractures, medicinal resin from mummies.]

mum·my²

(mŭmē)

n. pl. mum·mies
Informal

Mother.

[Alteration of MOMMY or MUM³.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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