Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rum” come from?

Rum is an English word of unknown origin, with the earliest sense obscured by limited historical documentation of its first appearance.

rum (English): A distilled spirit derived from fermented cane...

Definitions

  1. A distilled spirit derived from fermented cane...

Ancestry of “rum”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ottoman Turkishروم—
2ArabicرُومByzantines
3Middle Persian𐭧𐭫𐭥𐭬Rome; Byzantine
4Ancient GreekῬωμανία—
5Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
6Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
7Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “rum”

  • rum
  • rummy
  • rummer
  • rumbo
  • rumseller
  • rumrunner
  • rumrunning
  • rummily
  • rumpot
  • rumness
  • rummish
  • rumminess
  • rumly
  • rumless
  • Rum-ville
  • antirum
  • rum go
  • rum-runner
  • rumbud
  • ron
  • rum
  • ром
  • rhumerie
  • rhum
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →