Definitions for mummy
ˈmʌm imum·my

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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)

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mummynoun

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

   1. A dead body preserved by the Egyptian art of embalming.

   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.

   2.Mummy is used among gardeners for a sort of wax used in the planting and grafting of trees. Ephraim Chambers3. To beat to a Mummy.To beat soundly. Robert Ainsworth

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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

1. • Dead Body
   • Mother

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

How to pronounce mummy?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say mummy in sign language?

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. Samantha Harris:

   Following the scans at KIMS Hospital, the remains were in fact revealed to be the mummy of a baby, initial reviews identified the baby to be a miscarried c.20-week gestation foetus which, if found to be the case, will be one of the youngest human mummies recorded anywhere in the world.

2. Francesca Knittel Bowyer:

   Mummy had the fragility of an orchid, the energy of a hummingbird, the tenacity of a hunter. She could change calm waters into a raging storm with a look and the lift of a finger, my heart is a hole without her, but that hole will definitely be filled with incredible memories, sweet, salty and funny. I want her memory to linger with those who knew her and be given to those who did not.

3. Paul Ansell:

   We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real. All we can say is we need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home, we’re never, ever going to lose hope, of course we’re not, but it is as though she has vanished into thin air. It’s just insane.

4. Perry Brass:

   The Egyptians had a particularly nasty way of getting rid of people they felt had no consequence. Instead of embalming them, they simply constructed a fake mummy made from old strips of linen wrapped around a dummy of mud. If, in our modern world, you feel that there are a lot of “mud mummies” around you, get rid of the mud.

5. Brendan Fraser:

   The Mummy's gon na be like something you haven't seen before.

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