scum

[skuhm] /skʌm/
noun
1.
a film or layer of foul or extraneous matter that forms on the surface of a liquid.
2.
refuse or offscourings.
3.
a low, worthless, or evil person.
4.
such persons collectively; riffraff; dregs.
5.
scoria (def 1).
verb (used with object), scummed, scumming.
6.
to remove the scum from.
7.
to remove as scum.
verb (used without object), scummed, scumming.
8.
to form scum; become covered with scum.
Origin
1200-50; Middle English scume < Middle Dutch schūme (Dutch schuim) foam; cognate with German Schaum foam
Related forms
scumless, adjective
scumlike, adjective
unscummed, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for scum

scum

/skʌm/
noun
1.
a layer of impure matter that forms on the surface of a liquid, often as the result of boiling or fermentation
2.
the greenish film of algae and similar vegetation surface of a stagnant pond
3.
Also called dross, scruff. the skin of oxides or impurities on the surface of a molten metal
4.
waste matter
5.
a worthless person or group of people
verb scums, scumming, scummed
6.
(transitive) to remove scum from
7.
(intransitive) (rare) to form a layer of or become covered with scum
Derived Forms
scumlike, adjective
scummer, noun
Word Origin
C13: of Germanic origin; related to Old High German scūm, Middle Dutch schūm, Old French escume; see skim
Word Origin and History for scum
n.

early 14c. (implied in scummer "shallow ladle for removing scum"), from Middle Dutch schume "foam, froth," from Proto-Germanic *skuma- (cf. Old Norse skum, Old High German scum, German Schaum "foam, froth"), perhaps from PIE root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (see hide (n.1)).

Sense deteriorated from "thin layer atop liquid" to "film of dirt," then just "dirt." Meaning "lowest class of humanity" is 1580s; scum of the Earth is from 1712. Adopted in Romanic, cf. Old French escume, Modern French écume, Spanish escuma, Italian schiuma.

Slang definitions & phrases for scum

scum

noun
  1. Semen; come (1960s+)
  2. A despicable person