Etymology

alum

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Today it means: An astringent salt, usually occurring in the form of pale crystals, much used in the dyeing and tanning trade and in certain medicines, and now understood to be a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium (K₂SO₄·Al₂(SO₄)₃·24H₂O). Full definition →

First used 14th c.Middle English alym, alyme, alum ← Anglo-Norman alum, alun ← Latin alūmen
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alum · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂elut-
  2. Latinalūmen
  3. Anglo-Normanalum, alun
  4. Middle Englishalym, alyme, alum
  5. English todayalum

From Middle English alum, alym, alyme, from Anglo-Norman alum, alun, from Latin alūmen.

alum · noun2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-o-mh₁no-
  3. Proto-Italic*alomanos
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  5. Latinalumnu
  6. Englishalumnus, alumnaclip.
  7. English todayalum

Clipping of alumnus and alumna (> alumn- > alum), by the removal of the originally Latin gender-specific nominative singular case endings -us (masculine) and -a (feminine).

Words from the same roots

Latinalūmen all →

alumina

First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. An astringent salt, usually occurring in the form of pale crystals, much used in the dyeing and tanning trade and in certain medicines, and now understood to be a double sulphate of potassium and aluminium (K₂SO₄·Al₂(SO₄)₃·24H₂O).
  • from 17th c. Any similar double sulphate in which either or both of the potassium and aluminium is wholly or partly replaced by other univalent or tervalent cations.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.