Meanings
plural bummocks
- ScotlandobsoleteA brewing of ale.
- A submerged, downward-projecting piece of ice.
The ice "bridge" which broke was formed of great bummocks of ice welded together at the foot of the great cataract, […]
1912, The Illustrated London News, page 3382 more examples
Q. Are there not October gales which often separate the bummocks of ice and allow ships to pass on! - A. Decidedly. I do not know what the direction of the wind was at the time, but if the wind was going from the land, then he would[…]
1884, United States House, Miscellaneous Documents: 30th Congress, 1st Session - 49th Congress, 1st Session, page 666The most important ice features are the frequency and extent of downward projections (bummocks and ice keels) from the underside of the ice canopy (pack ice and enclosed water areas from the point of view of the submariner)[…]
1975, Nathaniel Bowditch, American Practical Navigator: An Epitome of Navigation, page 834
Origin
For the sense relating to alcohol: from or cognate to Scots bummock (“a brewing of drink; the liquor so brewed”), perhaps from Scots bummie, bummo, a vessel for holding liquid, itself perhaps from Old Norse, compare Icelandic bumba (“drum”). For the sense relating to ice, perhaps compare how keel can mean either a similar ice structure or a brewer's vat.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bummock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bummock
“bummock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bummock. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bummock,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bummock.
Source: bummock on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.