different between vague vs mum
vague
English
Etymology
From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ve??/
- IPA(key): (Upper Midwest US) /væ?/
- Rhymes: -e??, -æ?
Adjective
vague (comparative vaguer, superlative vaguest)
- Not clearly expressed; stated in indefinite terms.
- 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
- Throughout the first week of his presidency, Dulles and Bissell continued to brief Kennedy on their strategy for Cuba, but the men were vague and their meetings offered little in the way of hard facts.
- inarticulate, Synonym: unclear; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
- 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
- Not having a precise meaning.
- Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal
- Not clearly defined, grasped, or understood; indistinct; slight.
- Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal, indistinct, obscure; see also Thesaurus:vague
- Not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.
- Not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely.
- 1962, Philip Larkin, "Toads Revisited"
- Waxed-fleshed out-patients / Still vague from accidents, / And characters in long coats / Deep in the litter-baskets […]
- Synonym: dazed
- 1962, Philip Larkin, "Toads Revisited"
- Lacking expression; vacant.
- Synonyms: vacant, vacuous
- Not sharply outlined; hazy.
- Synonyms: fuzzy, hazy, ill-defined; see also Thesaurus:indistinct
- Wandering; vagrant; vagabond.
- 1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI
- The Lord Gray incourag'd his men to set sharply upon the vague villains
- Synonyms: erratic, roaming, unsettled, vagrant, vagabond
- 1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI
Related terms
Translations
Noun
vague (plural vagues)
- (obsolete) A wandering; a vagary.
- An indefinite expanse.
- 1870, James Russell Lowell, The Cathedral
- The gray vague of unsympathizing sea.
- 1870, James Russell Lowell, The Cathedral
Verb
vague (third-person singular simple present vagues, present participle vaguing, simple past and past participle vagued)
- (archaic) to wander; to roam; to stray.
- 1603, Philemon Holland (translator), The Philosophie, commonly called, the Morals
- [The soul] doth vague and wander.
- 1603, Philemon Holland (translator), The Philosophie, commonly called, the Morals
- To become vague or act in a vague manner.
Further reading
- vague in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- vague in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- vague at OneLook Dictionary Search
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin vagus.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic) IPA(key): /?va.??/
- (Central) IPA(key): /?ba.??/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /?va.?e/
Adjective
vague (feminine vaga, masculine and feminine plural vagues)
- vague
Derived terms
- vagament
Further reading
- “vague” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “vague” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
- “vague” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “vague” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology 1
From Middle French [Term?], from Old French vague (“movement on the surface of a liquid, ripple”), from Old Norse vágr (“sea”), from Proto-Germanic *w?gaz (“wave, storm”), from Proto-Indo-European *we??- (“to drag, carry”). Cognate with Swedish våg (“wave”), Middle Dutch waeghe, wage (“wave”), Old High German w?ge (“wave”), Old English w?g (“wave, billow, motion, flood”). More at waw, wave.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /va?/
Noun
vague f (plural vagues)
- wave
- 2014, Indila, Comme un bateau
- 2014, Indila, Comme un bateau
Derived terms
- faire des vagues
- vague de chaleur
- vague de froid
- vaguelette
- vaguette
Etymology 2
From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”). Possibly a doublet of gai.
Adjective
vague (plural vagues)
- vague
Noun
vague m (plural vagues)
- vagueness
- Synonym: distrait
Derived terms
- terrain vague
- vague à l'âme
- vaguement
Further reading
- “vague” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Galician
Verb
vague
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive of vagar
Portuguese
Verb
vague
- first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of vagar
- third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of vagar
- third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of vagar
- third-person singular (você) negative imperative of vagar
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ba?e/, [?ba.??e]
Verb
vague
- First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of vagar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of vagar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of vagar.
vague From the web:
- what vague means
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mum
English
Alternative forms
- mam
- mom, Mom (US)
- Mum
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /m?m/
- Rhymes: -?m
Etymology 1
Alternative form of mam, or an abbreviation of mummy. Compare mom, mama.
Noun
mum (plural mums)
- (Britain, Australia, New England, Canada, informal) Mother.
- 1993, Hilda Hollingsworth, Places of Greater Safety, Zenobia Press edition, page 278,
- 'Ooh Mum, Auntie don?t allow smokin’ - Pat?s eyes were round with awe as Mum struck a match.
- 2004, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen, Irene Dunlap, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2, page 336,
- Her mum says that she is deaf and only partially sighted, so I need to go and stand in front of her, so she can see the gift.
- 2006, Kathryn Lasky, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Book 11: To Be a King, page 88,
- “Mum! Mum!” he shouted out. The laughter stopped. Two bright, sparkling yellow eyes peeped from the hollow. Atop her head were the fluffy ear tufts that his mum was so proud of because they were fuller and lovelier than those of most Great Horned Owls. It was indeed his mum!
- 2011, Chyna, FAM: Rolling in a London Girl Gang, unnumbered page,
- He?s looking at my mum, at her swollen eyes, busted nose and bloodied lips. She?s mashed up something chronic, and the man who did this to her is my dad.
- 1993, Hilda Hollingsworth, Places of Greater Safety, Zenobia Press edition, page 278,
- (dated, colloquial) ma'am; a term of respect for an older woman.
- 1840, Charles Dickens, Master Humphrey's Clock, Volume 1, 1851, page 130,
- “Wy, mum,” said Mr. Weller, “I don?t think you?ll see a many sich, and that?s the truth. But if my son Samivel vould give me my vay, mum, and dis-pense with his—might I wenter to say the vurd?”
- “What word Mr Weller?” said the housekeeper, blushing slightly.
- “Petticuts, mum,” returned that gentleman, laying his had upon the garments of his grandson. “If my son Samivel vould only dis-pense vith these here, you?d see sich a alteration in his appearance, as the imagination can?t depicter!”
- 1885, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 2011, unnumbered page,
- Then she took off the hank and looked me straight in the face, and very pleasant, and says:
- “Come, now, what?s your real name?
- “Wh — what, mum?”
- “What?s your real name? Is it Bill, or Tom, or Bob? — Or what is it?”
- 1840, Charles Dickens, Master Humphrey's Clock, Volume 1, 1851, page 130,
Usage notes
Mum is only capitalized when used as a proper noun:
- I don't think Mum will like you.
- I don't think my mum will like you.
- In New England, the word may still be spelt "mom", but it will have the pronunciation of "mum".
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:mother
Translations
Etymology 2
Abbreviation of chrysanthemum.
Noun
mum (plural mums)
- A chrysanthemum.
Etymology 3
From Middle English mum or mom (“silent”), reminiscent of the sound made when gagged or with a hand over one's mouth. Perhaps related to dated German Mumme (“mask”).
Alternative forms
- (verb): mumm (archaic)
Adjective
mum (not comparable)
- (colloquial) Silent.
- (colloquial) Secret.
Derived terms
- keep mum
- mum's the word
Interjection
mum!
- stop speaking!, stop talking!, hush!
Verb
mum (third-person singular simple present mums, present participle mumming, simple past and past participle mummed)
- To act in a pantomime or dumb show.
Noun
mum (uncountable)
- (obsolete) silence
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Hudibras to this entry?)
Etymology 4
German Mumme, named after Christian Mumme, who first brewed it in 1492.
Noun
mum (uncountable)
- A type of strong beer, originally made in Brunswick, Germany.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)
Anagrams
- MMU, umm
Abinomn
Noun
mum
- eeltail catfish
Forak
Noun
mum
- breast
Further reading
- John Carter, Katie Carter, John Grummitt, Bonnie MacKenzie, Janell Masters, A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Mur Village Vernaculars (2012)
Turkish
Etymology
From Persian ???? (mum).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mum/
Noun
mum (definite accusative mumu, plural mumlar)
- candle
Declension
Derived terms
- mumluk
Zazaki
Noun
mum
- candle
mum From the web:
- what mummy makes
- what mums are perennials
- what mumps
- what mum means
- what mummification means
- what mummies look like
- what mummy sounds like
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