What does mummy mean?

Definitions for mummy
ˈmʌm imum·my

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word mummy.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. ma, mama, mamma, mom, momma, mommy, mammy, mum, mummynoun

    informal terms for a mother

  2. mummynoun

    a body embalmed and dried and wrapped for burial (as in ancient Egypt)

Wiktionary

  1. Mummynoun

    One's mother

    I prefer Mummy when she doesn't shout at me.

  2. Etymology: From mumie, from momie, from mumia, from مومياء, from مومیا, from موم.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Mummynoun

    Etymology: mumie, Fr. mumia, Lat. derived by Salmasius from amomum, by Bochart from the Arabick.

    We have two different substances preserved for medicinal use under the name of mummy: one is the dried flesh of human bodies embalmed with myrrh and spice; the other is the liquor running from such mummies when newly prepared, or when affected by great heat, or by damps: this is sometimes of a liquid, sometimes of a solid form, as it is preserved in vials well stopped, or suffered to dry and harden in the air: the first kind is brought to us in large pieces, of a lax and friable texture, light and spungy, of a blackish brown colour, and often black and clammy on the surface; it is of a strong but not agreeable smell: the second sort, in its liquid state, is a thick, opake, and viscous fluid, of a blackish and a strong, but not disagreeable smell: in its indurated state it is a dry, solid substance, of a fine shining black colour and close texture, easily broken, and of a good smell: this sort is extremely dear, and the first sort so cheap, that as all kinds of mummy are brought from Egypt we are not to imagine it to be the ancient Egyptian mummy. What our druggists are supplied with is the flesh of executed criminals, or of any other bodies the Jews can get, who fill them with the common bitumen so plentiful in that part of the world, and adding aloes, and some other cheap ingredients, send them to be baked in an oven till the juices are exhaled, and the embalming matter has penetrated so thoroughly that the flesh will keep. Mummy has been esteemed resolvent and balsamick; and besides it, the skull, and even the moss growing on the skulls of human skeletons, have been celebrated for antiepileptick virtues; the fat also of the human body has been recommended in rheumatisms, and every other part or humour have been in repute for the cure of some disease: at present we are wise enough to know, that the virtues ascribed to the parts of the human body are all either imaginary, or such as may be found in other animal substances: the mummy and the skull alone of all these horrid medicines retain their places in the shops. John Hill, Mat. Med.

    The silk
    Was dy’d in mummy, which the skilful
    Conserv’d of maidens hearts. William Shakespeare, Othello.

    It is strange how long carcases have continued uncorrupt, as appeareth in the mummies of Egypt, having lasted some of them three thousand years. Francis Bacon, Nat. Hist. №. 771.

    Sav’d by spice, like mummies, many a year,
    Old bodies of philosophy appear. Dunciad, b. i.

Wikipedia

  1. Mummy

    A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay further if kept in cool and dry conditions. Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately embalmed with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally desiccated bodies goes back to at least 1615 AD (see the section Etymology and meaning). Mummies of humans and animals have been found on every continent, both as a result of natural preservation through unusual conditions, and as cultural artifacts. Over one million animal mummies have been found in Egypt, many of which are cats. Many of the Egyptian animal mummies are sacred ibis, and radiocarbon dating suggests the Egyptian Ibis mummies that have been analyzed were from time frame that falls between approximately 450 and 250 BC.In addition to the mummies of ancient Egypt, deliberate mummification was a feature of several ancient cultures in areas of America and Asia with very dry climates. The Spirit Cave mummies of Fallon, Nevada in North America were accurately dated at more than 9,400 years old. Before this discovery, the oldest known deliberate mummy was a child, one of the Chinchorro mummies found in the Camarones Valley, Chile, which dates around 5050 BC. The oldest known naturally mummified human corpse is a severed head dated as 6,000 years old, found in 1936 AD at the site named Inca Cueva No. 4 in South America.

ChatGPT

  1. mummy

    A mummy refers to the body of a human or animal that has been preserved (either intentionally or unintentionally) after death through certain natural processes or human-made techniques. This often involves removing the internal organs, treating the body with natural or chemical preservatives, and wrapping it in linens or placing it in a sarcophagus. The practice is most famously associated with ancient Egyptian culture, but has been found in various cultures around the world.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Mummynoun

    a dead body embalmed and dried after the manner of the ancient Egyptians; also, a body preserved, by any means, in a dry state, from the process of putrefaction

  2. Mummynoun

    dried flesh of a mummy

  3. Mummynoun

    a gummy liquor that exudes from embalmed flesh when heated; -- formerly supposed to have magical and medicinal properties

  4. Mummynoun

    a brown color obtained from bitumen. See Mummy brown (below)

  5. Mummynoun

    a sort of wax used in grafting, etc

  6. Mummynoun

    one whose affections and energies are withered

  7. Mummyverb

    to embalm; to mummify

  8. Etymology: [F. momie; cf. Sp. & Pg. momia, It. mummia; all fr. Per. mmiy, fr. mm wax.]

Wikidata

  1. Mummy

    A mummy is a human or animal whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry conditions. Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately embalmed with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally desiccated bodies goes back at least to the 1730s. Mummies of humans and other animals have been found all around the world, both as a result of natural preservation through unusual conditions, and as cultural artifacts. Over one million animal mummies have been found in Egypt, many of which are cats. The oldest known naturally mummified human corpse is a severed head dated as 6,000 years old, found in 1936 at the site named Inca Cueva No. 4 in South America. In addition to the well-known mummies of Ancient Egypt, deliberate mummification was a feature of several ancient cultures in areas of South America and Asia which have very dry climates. There are more than 1000 mummies in Xinjiang, China. The oldest-known deliberate mummy is a child, one of the Chinchorro mummies found in the Camarones Valley, Chile, and dates from around 5050 BC.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Mummy

    mum′i, n. a human body preserved by the Egyptian art of embalming, in which wax, spices, &c. were employed: a kind of wax used in grafting: a brown pigment: (obs.) a medicinal gum.—v.t. to embalm and dry as a mummy:—pr.p. mumm′ying; pa.p. mumm′ied.n. Mummificā′tion.—adj. Mumm′iform.—v.t. Mumm′ify, to make into a mummy: to embalm and dry as a mummy:—pr.p. mumm′ifying; pa.p. mumm′ified.ns. Mumm′y-case, a case of wood or cartonnage for an Egyptian mummy; Munny-cloth, the linen cloth in which a mummy was wrapped: a modern fabric resembling it, used as a basis for embroidery: a fabric like crape for mourning-dress, having a cotton or silk warp and woollen weft; Mumm′y-wheat, a variety of wheat with compound spikes—Triticum compositum. [O. Fr. mumie—It. mummia—Ar. and Pers. múmáyin, a mummy—Pers. móm, wax.]

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. mummy

    1. An unobjectionable party whose motives are not questioned. 2. One who is not in business for his health. 3. Any one who does not advertise.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'mummy' in Written Corpus Frequency: #545

  2. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'mummy' in Nouns Frequency: #1506

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of mummy in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of mummy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of mummy in a Sentence

  1. Jackie Collins:

    Do n`t tell mummy -- Mummy because we ` re English -- You do n`t tell Mummy dear that you ` re a wild thing.

  2. Van Dalen:

    The fact of finding a mummy with these characteristics in the middle of the plaza makes it clear that this is someone of high status.

  3. Sahar Saleem:

    We show that, at least for Pharoah Amenhotep I, the priests of the 21st dynasty lovingly repaired the injuries inflicted by the tomb robbers, restored Pharoah Amenhotep mummy to its former glory, and preserved the magnificent jewelry and amulets in place.

  4. Susan Sutton:

    She has … first-, second- and third-degree burns, she has many tubes in her, she can’t talk. She’s wrapped up like a mummy.

  5. Neville Agnew:

    It is an incredibly precious object, so it was a very stressful time to safely move the mummy, it was terrifying.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

mummy#10000#18208#100000

Translations for mummy

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"mummy." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/mummy>.

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