# gorm
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɡɔː(ɹ)m/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Homophone: gaum (non-rhotic)

### Etymology 1

A variant of gaum (from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaumr, from Proto-Germanic *gaumō; compare Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌿𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaumjan, “observe”)), with the ‘r’ 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)
* (UK and US, dialects) 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, →ISBN, page 96:They would stand in silence, mindlessly gorming at each other, […]
** 2005, Lynne Truss, The Lynne Truss Treasury: Columns and Three Comic Novels, →ISBN: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.

##### Related terms

* goam (“see, recognize, take notice of”)
* gaum (“understand; comprehend; consider”)

### Etymology 2

A variant of gaum (itself likely a variant of gum), with the ‘r’ 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 paint—assisting 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 using this term, see Citations:gorm.

#### 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, […]
** 1920, Outdoor Recreation: The Magazine that Brings the Outdoors In:[…] 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."

### Etymology 4

Supposed by some to be related to gormless and/or gorming, and by others to be related to gorm (“smear”) (itself probably related to gum (“make sticky; impair the functioning of”)).

#### Alternative forms

* gaum

#### 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 ‘up’) 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 value—quite 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 “gormed” it […]
** 2008, Christine Blevins, Midwife of the Blue Ridge, →ISBN, page 133:"Truth is, I've gormed it all up, Alistair. When it comes t' women — nice women anyway — I'm as caw-handed and cork-brained as any pimply boy."

#### 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, →ISBN: "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, →ISBN

### See also

* gormed

### Anagrams

* grom

## Cornish
### Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *gurm, from Proto-Celtic *gurmos, cognate with Welsh gwrm (“brown, dark”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɡɔrm/

### Adjective

gorm
* dark brown
    gorm:

#### Related terms

* gell (“light brown”)

### See also

Colors in Cornish · liwyow (layout · text) :
| gwynn | loos, glas | du |
| rudh; kogh | rudhvelyn, melynrudh; gell, gorm | melyn; losvelyn |
| | gwyrdh, gwer, glas | |
| glaswyrdh, glaswer; gwerlas | glaswyn, blou | glas |
| glasrudh, purpur; indigo | majenta; purpur, glasrudh | gwynnrudh, kigliw |

## Irish
### Etymology

From Old Irish gorm (“blue”), from Proto-Celtic *gurmos. Cognate with Welsh gwrm (“dusky”).

### Pronunciation

* (Kerry) IPA: /ˈɡʌɾˠəmˠ/
* (Connacht) IPA: /ˈɡɔɾˠəmˠ/, /ˈɡɞɾˠəmˠ/
* (Ulster) IPA: /ˈɡɔɾˠəmˠ/

### Adjective

gorm (genitive singular masculine goirm, genitive singular feminine goirme, plural gorma, comparative goirme)
* blue
* black (of people, skin)
* (heraldry) azure

#### Declension

$^1$ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article. $^2$ When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

##### Obsolete spellings

$^1$ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article. $^2$ When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

#### Derived terms

* ceannghorm
* corcairghorm
* dícear gorm
* dréimire gorm
* dúghorm
* fabhcún gorm
* fathach gorm
* fuath gorm
* gormghlas
* gormuaine
* méaracán gorm
* ollfhathach gorm
* scothghorm
* scréachóg ghorm
* seabhac gorm
* siorc gorm
* spéirghorm

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### See also

Colors in Irish · dathanna (layout · text) :
| bán | liath | dubh |
| dearg; corcairdhearg | oráiste, flannbhuí; donn | buí; bánbhuí |
| líoma-ghlas, glas líoma | glas, uaine | dath an mhiontais |
| cian | gormghlas, spéirghorm | gorm |
| corcairghorm; indeagó | maigeanta; corcra | bándearg |

### References

* ↑ Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 17, page 11
* ↑ Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 128
* ↑ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 110, page 43

### Further reading

* Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “gorm”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

## Scottish Gaelic
### Etymology

From Old Irish gorm (“blue”), from Proto-Celtic *gurmos. Same root as Welsh gwrm (“dusky”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈkɔrɔ̃m/

### Adjective

gorm (comparative guirme)
* blue, dark blue
* green; blue-green to verdant (natural; of plants, especially grass)
    Synonym: glas
* green (inexperienced or naive)
* black, dark gray (of animal fur)
* black (of skin colour)

#### Usage notes

* The use of gorm for animals or people refers to the colours reflected in the fur or skin, which can have a blue iridescence.

#### Derived terms

* bèist-ghorm (“common dolphin”)
* dearcag ghorm (“blueberry”)
* liath-ghorm (“lilac”)
* seabhag-ghorm (“peregrine falcon”)

#### Related terms

* gar

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### See also

Colors in Scottish Gaelic · dathan (layout · text) :
| bàn, geal | glas | dubh |
| dearg; ruadh | orains; donn | buidhe; donn |
| uaine | uaine | gorm |
| liath; glas | liath | gorm |
| purpaidh; guirmean | pinc; purpaidh | pinc |

### References

* MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “gorm”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎, Stirling, →ISBN