English
cum
Cum comes from Latin cum ‘with, along with’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóm‘beside, near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kom‘with, along, at’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEcom
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcum‘with, along with’
- Englishearliest quotation 1926-1950same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóm‘beside, near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kom‘with, along, at’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEcom
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcum‘with, along with’
- Englishearliest quotation 1926-1950same form
Earliest quotation: 1926-1950, George Bernard Shaw, Collected Letters: 1926-1950: “He is too good an actor to need that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱe ‘Deictic particle, here’
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’
among, gain, consideration, comply, hind, likeness, kata, limbed, 31 more
through Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’
conference, consider, competition, counter, consistent, concrete, con, commodity, compulsory, contra, compel, concierge, connotation, condiment, condescend, 15 more
through Latin cum ‘with, along with’
Another origin of cum
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷem-‘to come, to step’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷémt‘to step, to take a step’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwemaną‘to come’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kweman‘to come’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cuman‘to come’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comen‘to come’
- English1500–presentcome
- Englishtodaycum
Variant of come, attested (in the basic sense "come, move from further to nearer, arrive") since Old English. The sexual sense of come is attested since the 1650s. In this sense and spelling, attested from 1970s.
Today it means
prep Used in indicating a thing or person which has two or more roles, functions, or natures, or which has changed from one to another.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm / cum