mummy1

[muhm-ee] /ˈmʌm i/
noun, plural mummies.
1.
the dead body of a human being or animal preserved by the ancient Egyptian process or some similar method of embalming.
2.
a dead body dried and preserved by nature.
3.
a withered or shrunken living being.
4.
a dry, shriveled fruit, tuber, or other plant organ, resulting from any of several fungous diseases.
verb (used with object), mummied, mummying.
5.
to make into or cause to resemble a mummy; mummify.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English mummie < Medieval Latin mummia < Arabic mūmiyah mummy, literally, bitumen < Persian mūm wax
Related forms
unmummied, adjective

mummy2

[muhm-ee] /ˈmʌm i/
noun, plural mummies. Chiefly British
1.
mother.
Origin
1815-25; mum4 + -y2
Examples from the web for mummy
  • It would be better for her, he said, to have a mummy.
  • He salvages and studies mummy organs from around the world.
  • The mummy has been examined four times before, but it has never been seen by the public.
  • mummy bag for maximum heat and efficient weight and space for travel.
  • So the scientists obtained permission to scan that mummy and others in the museum collection.
  • Something begins to shift in our picture of the mummy brain.
  • Much of the site has been restored and excavations continue to uncover artifacts and the occasional mummy.
British Dictionary definitions for mummy

mummy1

/ˈmʌmɪ/
noun (pl) -mies
1.
an embalmed or preserved body, esp as prepared for burial in ancient Egypt
2.
(obsolete) the substance of such a body used medicinally
3.
a mass of pulp
4.
a dark brown pigment
Word Origin
C14: from Old French momie, from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic mūmiyah asphalt, from Persian mūm wax

mummy2

/ˈmʌmɪ/
noun (pl) -mies
1.
(mainly Brit) a child's word for mother1
Word Origin
C19: variant of mum1
Word Origin and History for mummy
n.

c.1400, "medicine prepared from mummy tissue," from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic mumiyah "embalmed body," from Persian mumiya "asphalt," from mum "wax." Sense of "embalmed body" first recorded in English 1610s. Mummy wheat (1842) was said to be cultivated from grains found in mummy-cases.

1784, childish alteration of mammy. Alternative form mumsy attested by 1876.