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Rum vs Drum - What's the difference?

rum | drum |

As nouns the difference between rum and drum

is that rum is a distilled spirit derived from fermented cane sugar and molasses while drum is a percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber, affecting what materials are used to make it.

As an adjective rum

is fine, excellent, valuable.

As a verb drum is

to beat a drum.

rum

English

(wikipedia rum)

Etymology 1

Perhaps shortened from rumbullion.

Noun

(en noun)
  • (uncountable) A distilled spirit derived from fermented cane sugar and molasses
    • The Royal Navy used to issue a rum ration to sailors.
  • (countable) A serving of rum
    • Jake tossed down three rums .
  • (countable) A kind or brand of rum
    • Bundaberg is one of my favourite rums .
  • (obsolete, slang) A queer or odd person or thing.
  • (obsolete, slang) A country parson.
  • * Jonathan Swift
    • No company comes / But a rabble of tenants, and rusty dull rums .

    Etymology 2

    Formerly rome'', a slang word for ''good ; possibly of Romany origin; compare .

    Adjective

    (rummer)
  • (obsolete) fine, excellent, valuable
  • (British, colloquial, dated) strange, peculiar
    • a rum''' idea; a '''rum fellow
    (Dickens)
    Synonyms
    *

    See also

    * rum go

    Quotations

    * 1951 , , Google Books *: "Can't you see him?" *: "Well, I almost thought I did—for a moment. It's such a rum light." * 1976 , , All Things Wise and Wonderful , page 346 *: "She's as 'appy as Larry, but she'll neither move nor eat. It's a rum' 'un, isn't it?" It was very ' rum indeed.

    Anagrams

    * ----

    drum

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A percussive musical instrument spanned with a thin covering on at least one end for striking, forming an acoustic chamber, affecting what materials are used to make it.
  • Any similar hollow, cylindrical object.
  • In particular, a barrel or large cylindrical container for liquid transport and storage.
    • The restaurant ordered ketchup in 50-gallon drums .
  • A social gathering or assembly held in the evening.
  • * 1749 , Henry Fielding, Tom Jones , Folio Society 1973, page 631:
    • Another misfortune which befel poor Sophia, was the company of Lord Fellamar, whom she met at the opera, and who attended her to the drum .
  • (architecture) The encircling wall that supports a dome or cupola
  • (architecture) Any of the cylindrical blocks that make up the shaft of a pillar
  • A drumfish.
  • (slang, UK) A person's home.
  • A tip, a piece of information.
  • * 1985 , (Peter Carey), Illywhacker , Faber and Faber 2003, page 258:
    • ‘he is the darndest little speaker we got, so better sit there and listen to him while he gives you the drum and if you clean out your earholes you might get a bit of sense into your heads.’

    Derived terms

    * bass drum * drum and bass * drum beat * drum brake * drum kit * drummer * drum roll * drumstick * drum stick * hand drum * kettledrum * snare drum * tenor drum

    See also

    * percussion

    Verb

    (drumm)
  • To beat a drum.
  • (ambitransitive) To beat with a rapid succession of strokes.
    • The ruffed grouse drums with his wings.
  • * Washington Irving
    • drumming with his fingers on the arm of his chair
  • To drill or review in an attempt to establish memorization.
    • He’s still trying to drum Spanish verb conjugations into my head.
  • To throb, as the heart.
    • (Dryden)
  • To go about, as a drummer does, to gather recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc.; used with for .

    • Derived terms

    * drummer