mummer means A person who dons a disguising costume, as for a parade or a festival. It carries an Arena rating of 1735, earned across 18 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mummer ranks #1,139 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,229 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #1,554 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,082 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
mummer is pronounced /ˈmʌm.ə(ɹ)/.
Why “mummer” is a great word
A performer who wears a mask or costume and communicates through silent gesture, typically in a seasonal folk play or parade. From Middle English *mummer*, *mommer*, equivalent to *mum* (meaning 'silent' or 'to act in pantomime') + the agent suffix *-er*, likely conflated with Old French *momeor* ('jester, entertainer'), from *mommer* ('to wear a mask'), from *momon* ('mask'). The ultimate root is imitative of muffled or indistinct speech or grimacing, as seen in related words like Middle Low Saxon *mummen* ('to disguise oneself, to speak indistinctly'). First recorded in English circa 1440. Unlike a 'mime,' who practices a defined theatrical art, or a 'masquerader,' who seeks anonymity at a ball, the mummer is a creature of communal rite and cyclical festival. He is the ragged silhouette dancing through the frozen village square, the beast-headed figure rattling a cup of coins at a winter door, the heavy, rhythmic thump of clogs on frozen earth—a temporary vessel for traditions that outlive any individual face, reminding us that some truths are too profound for words.
Etymology
From Middle English mummer, mommer, equivalent to mum + -er, perhaps conflating with Old French momeor (“jester, entertainer”), from mommer (“to wear a mask”), from momon (“mask”). Compare German Mumme (“mask”), 16th Century German mummen (“to disguise oneself”), Middle Dutch mommen, mummen (“to go about in a mask, to disguise”), Middle Low Saxon mommen (“to wear a mask, to disguise”), Dutch mom (“mask”) and mimmen (“to mask”) as well as Spanish momo (“grimace”). Perhaps both of the conflated terms are from the same ultimate root, as note Middle Low Saxon mummen (“to speak indistinctly, to disguise oneself”), Dutch mommen (“to speak indistinctly”), German mummen (“to speak indistinctly”), English mump (“to grimace, mumble”).
noun
- A person who dons a disguising costume, as for a parade or a festival.
- An actor in a pantomime; one who communicates entirely through gesture and facial expression.e.g.“[To] perform as mummers, who act in relays of eight, at the worship of ancestors.” — 1883, Adele Marion Fielde, “舞 (bú)”, in A pronouncing and defining dictionary of the Swatow dialect, arranged according to syllables and tones, Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press, page 16:
verb
- Synonym of mum (“to act in pantomime or dumb show”).e.g.“There is a general agreement that niggering [blackface performance] took over from mummering to keep up the old custom.” — 1976, Cake and Cockhorse, volume 7, page 220:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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