*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of cum

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Old Latin com Latin cumlbor. English cum Learned borrowing from Latin cum.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
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.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Old Latin com Latin cumlbor. English cum Learned borrowing from Latin cum.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:cum<id:with>",
        "id": "with",
        "text": "1",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe?\nProto-Indo-European *ḱóm\nProto-Italic *kom\nOld Latin com\nLatin cumlbor.\nEnglish cum\n[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"with\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"with\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"with\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"beside\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"here\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ḱe\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ḱóm\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*kom\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old Latin\", \"term\" : \"com\", \"lang\" : \"itc-ola\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"cum\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"cum\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"with\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"cum\" id=\"English:_with\">\nLearned borrowing from Latin cum."
    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe?\nProto-Indo-European *ḱóm\nProto-Italic *kom\nOld Latin com\nLatin cumlbor.\nEnglish cum\nLearned borrowing from Latin cum."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*ḱe",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱe#Proto-Indo-European:_here"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱóm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱóm#Proto-Indo-European:_beside"
    ],
    [
      "*kom",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/kom#Proto-Italic:_with"
    ],
    [
      "com",
      "com#Latin:_with"
    ],
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      "cum",
      "cum#Latin:_with"
    ],
    [
      "cum",
      "cum#Latin:_with"
    ]
  ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To have an orgasm, to feel the sensation of an orgasm. · To ejaculate. · Eye dialect spelling of come (“move from further to nearer; arrive”).

noun

Semen. · Female ejaculatory discharge. · An ejaculation.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- Proto-Indo-European *gʷémt Proto-Germanic *kwemaną Proto-West Germanic *kweman Old English cuman Middle English comen English come English cum 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.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "come<id:approach>",
        "id": "ejaculate",
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      },
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    },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʷem-"
    ],
    [
      "*gʷémt",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʷémt"
    ],
    [
      "*kwemaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kwemaną"
    ],
    [
      "*kweman",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kweman"
    ],
    [
      "cuman",
      "cuman#Old_English"
    ],
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      "comen",
      "comen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "come",
      "come#English:_approach"
    ],
    [
      "come",
      "come#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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        "To ejaculate.",
        "Eye dialect spelling of come (“move from further to nearer; arrive”)."
      ],
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    },
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      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
adj

Abbreviation of cumulative.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
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        "id": "cumulative"
      },
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    }
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        "Abbreviation of cumulative."
      ],
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

Abbreviation of cubic metre.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "id": "cubic metre"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
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        "Abbreviation of cubic metre."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cum →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y3Vt