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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread chum and chum #77861 08/06/2002 7:59 PM Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... Reading a recent local fishing column on the fine art of chumming (tossing choopped fish parts or bait into the water, either on the surface in a slick or in a sunken bucket, to attract fish, it occurred to me how disparate were the two meanings I know for this word (the other, of course, being "chum" in the sense of a friend). So I was curious as to how this came to be and investigated. Seems the 'cut bait' def is traced to the mid-19C US, origin unknown. The etymology for the other nuance is more readily available. Here's what The Word Detective had to say (BTW, OneLook has just been reformatted and doesn't seem as comprensive as it used to be in bringing up each dictionary's definition(s)?): http://www.word-detective.com/back-r.html#chum Any suggestions on the origin of the fishing "chum" and the reason for their correlation? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: chum and chum #77862 08/06/2002 8:19 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Dear WO'N: One thing about word-detective's answer that is stupid. Those tourists aren't going just to look at the sharks. They are hoping to get a big one to take a bait with a hook on it and take the tour boat for a "Nantucket sleigh ride". Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: chum and chum and chum #77863 08/07/2002 5:26 AM Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... Here's the other common chum, from Merriam Webster's, as in chum salmon: Main Entry: 5chum Function: noun Etymology: Chinook Jargon c&m spotted, striped, from Lower Chinook {capost}&m variegated Date: 1902 : CHUM SALMON Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: chum and chum and chum #77864 08/07/2002 5:35 AM Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... And askually®, the origin of chum #1 isn't as evident as I thought. From Macquarie Dictionary: chum noun 1. a mate or friend. --phrase 2. chum up (with), to become friendly with. [17thC British slang; origin unknown] http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/p/dictionary/slang-c.html What say ye, Brits? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: chum and chum and chum #77865 08/07/2002 8:40 PM Joined: Oct 2000 Posts: 1,346 Sussex, England FishonaBike veteran FishonaBike veteran Joined: Oct 2000 Posts: 1,346 Sussex, England What say ye, Brits? I'd say the Word Detective had it about right on the origin of "chum" as friend, Juan. It has a bit of a public school (private education, usually involving boarding) feel about it; quite a lot, actually. At the traditional boarding schools you would at some stage move up from a dormitory (dorm) to "chambers" - maybe at the really posh ones you'd never be in anything but chambers. But chambers would rarely be solo residences, you'd always share. And quite often you'd end up good friends with your chamber-mates; let's face it, they'd be as close to family as you'd get during school terms. Either you'd love them or hate them, I suspect. Chamber-mate abbreviating to "chum" sounds vagely plausible to me, going via "chaymy" on to "chaym" then "ch'm". Interesting that if you call someone a chum these days in England, more often than not you'd be expressing dislike and giving them a warning. "Now look here, chum". Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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