gorm
English
Etymology 1
A variant of gaum (from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaumr; compare Gothic đČđ°đżđŒđŸđ°đœ (gaumjan, âobserveâ)), with the ârâ being a vowel-lengthening device common in non-rhotic dialects of English. See gaum for more.
Alternative forms
- gawm (UK dialects)
Verb
gorm (third-person singular simple present gorms, present participle gorming, simple past and past participle gormed)
- (Britain and US, dialectal) To gawk; to stare or gape.
- 1922, Elinor Mordaunt, Laura Creichton, page 110:
- Passing through St. George's Square, Lupus Street, Chichester Street, he scarcely saw a soul; then, quite suddenly, he struck a dense crowd, kept back by the police, standing gorming at a great jagged hole in a high blank wall, a glimpse, the merest glimpse of more broken walls, shattered chimneys.
- 1901, New Outlook, volume 67, page 408:
- "Tell Sannah to bring some coffee," said the young woman to a diminutive Kaffir boy, who stood gorming at us with round black eyes.
- 1990, Jean Ure, Play Nimrod for him âISBN, page 96:
- They would stand in silence, mindlessly gorming at each other, [âŠ]
- 2005, Lynne Truss, The Lynne Truss Treasury: Columns and Three Comic Novels âISBN:
- In particular, we like to emphasize that, far from wasting our childhoods (not to mention adulthoods) mindlessly gorming at The Virginian and The Avengers, we spent those couch-potato years in rigorous preparation for our chosen career.
- 1922, Elinor Mordaunt, Laura Creichton, page 110:
Related terms
Etymology 2
A variant of gaum (itself likely a variant of gum), with the ârâ being a vowel-lengthening device common in non-rhotic dialects of English.
Verb
gorm (third-person singular simple present gorms, present participle gorming, simple past and past participle gormed)
- Alternative form of gaum (to smear).
- 1884, Margaret Elizabeth Majendie, Out of their element, page 70:
- 'It is quite ruined.'
- 'How did she do it? What a pity!'
- 'With paintâassisting in the painting of a garden-gate. She told me the pleasure of "gorming" it on was too irresistible to be resisted; and the poor little new gown in done for.'
- 1909, Augusta Kortrecht, The Widow Mary, in Good Housekeeping, volume 48, page 182:
- "It was in a little sprinkler bottle, an' I gormed it onto my vittles good an' thick. Lordy, Lordy, an' now I got to die!"
- For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:gorm.
- 1884, Margaret Elizabeth Majendie, Out of their element, page 70:
References
- Bennett Wood Green, Word-book of Virginia Folk-speech (1912), page 202:
- Gorm, v. To smear, as with anything sticky. When a child has smeared its face with something soft and sticky, they say: "Look how you have gormed your face."
Etymology 3
From gormandize/gormandise.
Verb
gorm (third-person singular simple present gorms, present participle gorming, simple past and past participle gormed)
- (colloquial, rare) To devour; to wolf down (food).
- 1885 James Johonnot, Neighbors with Claws and Hoofs, and Their Kin, page 105:
- The bear came up to the berries and stopped. Not accustomed to eat out of a pail, he tipped it over, and nosed about the fruit "gorming" it down, mixed with leaves and dirt, [âŠ]
- 1920, Outdoor Recreation: The Magazine that Brings the Outdoors In:
- [âŠ] an itinerant bruin and with naught on his hands but time and an appetite, [to] wander from ravine to ravine and gorm down this delectable fruit.
- 1980, Michael G. Karni, Finnish Americana, page 5:
- As Luohi said later, "He gormed it. Nay, he didn't eat it. He gormed it, the pig."
- 1885 James Johonnot, Neighbors with Claws and Hoofs, and Their Kin, page 105:
Etymology 4
Supposed by some to be related to gormless and/or gorming, and by others to be related to gorm (âsmearâ) (itself probably related to gum (âmake sticky; impair the functioning ofâ)).[1]
Alternative forms
Verb
gorm (third-person singular simple present gorms, present participle gorming, simple past and past participle gormed)
- (dialectal, chiefly Southern US, Appalachia, New England, often with âupâ) To make a mess of.
- 1910, English Mechanic and World of Science, volume 91, page 273:
- I find the cheap shilling self-filling pen advertised in these pages excellent valueâquite equal to that of fountain-pens I have paid ten times as much for. It is also durable. I am a careless person, and prefer to discard it when I have âgormedâ it [âŠ]
- 2008, Christine Blevins, Midwife of the Blue Ridge âISBN, page 133:
- "Truth is, I've gormed it all up, Alistair. When it comes t' women â nice women anyway â I'm as caw-handed and cork-brained as any pimply boy."
- 1910, English Mechanic and World of Science, volume 91, page 273:
References
- Maine lingo: boiled owls, billdads & wazzats (1975), page 114: "A man who bungles a job has gormed it. Anybody who stumbles over his own feet is gormy."
- Smoky Mountain Voices: A Lexicon of Southern Appalachian Speech (1993, âISBN: "gorm: [v. to make a mess.] If a house be in disorder it is said to be all gormed or gaumed up (B 368)."
- Smoky Mountain Voices: A Lexicon of Southern Appalachian Speech (1993, âISBN
Cornish
Etymology
From Proto-Brythonic *gurm, from Proto-Celtic *gurmos.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ÉĄÉrm/
Mutation
Cornish consonant mutation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
unmutated | soft | aspirate | hard | mixed | mixed after 'th |
gorm | worm | unchanged | korm | hworm | worm |
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish gorm (âblueâ), from Proto-Celtic *gurmos. Cognate with Welsh gwrm (âduskyâ).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ËÉĄÉÉŸË ÉmË /
Adjective
gorm (genitive singular masculine goirm, genitive singular feminine goirme, plural gorma, comparative goirme)
Declension
Singular | Plural (m/f) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Positive | Masculine | Feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
Nominative | gorm | ghorm | gorma; ghormaÂČ | |
Vocative | ghoirm | gorma | ||
Genitive | goirme | gorma | gorm | |
Dative | gorm; ghormÂč |
ghorm; ghoirm (archaic) |
gorma; ghormaÂČ | |
Comparative | nĂos goirme | |||
Superlative | is goirme |
Âč When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
ÂČ When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.
- Obsolete spellings
Singular | Plural (m/f) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Positive | Masculine | Feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
Nominative | gorm | ghorm | gorma; ghormaÂČ | |
Vocative | ghuirm | gorma | ||
Genitive | guirme | gorma | gorm | |
Dative | gorm; ghormÂč |
ghorm; ghuirm (archaic) |
gorma; ghormaÂČ | |
Comparative | nĂos guirme | |||
Superlative | is guirme |
Âč When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
ÂČ When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.
Derived terms
- ceannghorm (âblue-headedâ)
- dĂcear gorm (âblue duikerâ)
- drĂ©imire gorm, fuath gorm (âwoody nightshade, bittersweetâ)
- dĂșghorm (âdark blue, navy blueâ)
- fabhcĂșn gorm, seabhac gorm (âperegrine falconâ)
- fathach gorm (âblue giantâ)
- gormghlas, gormuaine (âblue-greenâ)
- mĂ©aracĂĄn gorm (âharebellâ)
- ollfhathach gorm (âblue supergiantâ)
- scothghorm (âbluishâ)
- scrĂ©achĂłg ghorm (âblue jayâ)
- siorc gorm (âblue sharkâ)
- spĂ©irghorm (âsky blueâ)
Mutation
Irish mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
gorm | ghorm | ngorm |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From Old Irish gorm (âblueâ), from Proto-Celtic *gurmos. Same root as Welsh gwrm (âduskyâ).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ËkÉrÉÌm/
Derived terms
- bĂšist-ghorm (âcommon dolphinâ)
- dearcag ghorm (âblueberryâ)
- liath-ghorm (âlilacâ)
- seabhag-ghorm (âperegrine falconâ)
Related terms
Mutation
Scottish Gaelic mutation | |
---|---|
Radical | Lenition |
gorm | ghorm |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |