Esperanto words with the suffix -um

Esperanto derivation is for the most part regular and predictable: One can normally understand new words that are built upon known roots, and can create new words on the fly while speaking. However, there is a suffix -um- that has no inherent meaning, but derives words that cannot be readily derived with dedicated affixes. Such derivations must be memorized individually, though because the root already exists, they may be more easily learned than a completely new word. Because of its irregularity and unpredictability, over-use of the suffix -um- is discouraged. Over time substitutes have been developed for some of the original -um- words and new ones have been coined. Regular derivations may in some cases substitute for a word in -um-; in other cases they may be similar but not exact replacements; and in still others, a substitutable word may be considered jargon (like using 'a catarrh' for 'a cold' in English).

Semi-regular use

One area where the derivations is -um- are nearly predictable is in pieces of clothing named after the corresponding parts of the body: kolumo 'collar' (from 'neck'); buŝumo 'muzzle' (from 'mouth'); manumo 'cuff' (from 'hand': does not mean 'glove'); kalkanumo 'heel (of a shoe)'; plandumo 'sole (of a shoe)'; ingvenumo 'jockstrap' (from 'groin'); hufumo 'horseshoe' (from 'hoof'); nazumo 'pince-nez, spectacles' (from 'nose', now uncommon). Many of these are the only word for the concept, though the last two have substitutes: hufofero (lit. "hoof-iron") and okulvitroj (lit. "eye-glasses"). (Note however that brakumi from 'arm' does not mean 'sleeve' but 'to embrace'.) In a similar vein, cicumo is a 'nipple (on a bottle)', from '(human) nipple' (body-part extension), and fenestrumo is 'shutter', from 'window' (a covering of a part).

Another predictable set are formed from numbers to indicate numerical bases: duuma 'binary', okuma 'octal', dekuma 'decimal' (dekuma logaritmo 'base-10 logarithm'), dekduuma 'duodecimal', deksesuma 'hexadecimal', dudekuma 'vigesimal', and sesdekuma 'sexagesimal'.

Consciously using the senses is a meaning that is partially predictable, though it only fills in meanings that do not have dedicated roots like 'watch' or 'listen'. These are fingrumi 'to touch/feel/palpate' (from 'finger'); gustumi 'to taste s.t.' (from gusti 'to taste (of food)'); and okulumi 'to make eyes at' (from 'eye'). For the latter, simple okuli is often used, and it has a sexual connotation that is not predictable. The word for the senses is sentumo, from senti 'to feel'.

Forms of execution also take -um-: krucumi 'to crucify', pendumi 'to hang', gasumi 'to gas', ŝtonumi 'to stone', dekumi, kvaronumi 'to quarter', palisumi 'to impale', radumi 'to break on the wheel'. Substitute forms with -mortigi 'to kill' are nearly as common: krucmortigi, ŝtonmortigi, etc.

A recent innovation is to spend time doing something, especially for pleasure. Butikumi (from butiko 'a shop') means 'to go shopping', and tends to be used in the sense of shopping for pleasure. Similarly, amikumi means 'to pass time with one's friends'; esperantumi 'to spend time using Esperanto'; kafumi 'to have a cup of coffee', retumi 'to surf the Web' (from reto 'net, Internet'), and urbumi 'to go into town' (from urbo 'town, city'). These latter words are not yet in dictionaries.

List of derivations

The following is a fairly complete list of words with a reasonable degree of acceptance and that have not been covered above.

Rootmeaning-um- formmeaningsubstitute
aeroairaerumito aerateventoli to ventilate
alfabetoalphabetalfabetumoalphabet book, abecedaryalfabetlibro; ≈ aboco ABCs,
amindalovableamindumito court, to wookoketi to flirt
brakoan armbrakumito embrace, to hugenbrakigi to take in one's arms, ĉirkaŭbraki
brulito burn (v.i.)brulumoinflammation
cerbobraincerbumito brood over, to rack one's brains(pri)pensegi (augmentative of pensi 'to think' or pripensi 'to consider')
ĉaroa cartĉarumoa wheelbarrow
dekstraright(hand)dekstrumaclockwise
faldito foldfaldumito pleat
folioa leaffoliumito leaf through
fumito emit smokefumumito smoke a pipe, cigarette, etc.fumi (fumaĵi is to smoke fish, meat, etc.)
glitito glideglitumito iceskateglitkuri (with kuri 'to run')
komunain commonkomunumoa community
kortoa court(yard)kortumoan appellate courtjuĝejo (juĝ-ejo) is a court in general
literoa letter (of the alphabet)literumito spellortografii (from 'orthography')
lokoa placelokumito place under the care of someone
(child in a school, money in a bank, etc.)
loki (extended sense)
lotito draw lotslotumito allotpriloti
malvarmacoldmalvarmumoa coldkataro catarrh
mastroa master mastrumito manage the economy of a home
mondoworldmondumohigh society
musoa mousemusumito use a computer mouse, to cut & paste
ombroa shadowombrumito shade (in painting or drawing)
ondoa waveondumito corrugate, to make (hair) wavy
operacioan operationoperaciumooperating system (such as Unix)mastruma sistemo (technically only part of the operaciumo)
palpebroan eyelidpalpebrumito blink
plenafullplenumito accomplish, to fulfill
postaĵoa posterior, a rear endpostaĵumito moon
proksimanearproksimumeapproximately
propraone's ownproprumito own
rapidospeedrapidumoa speed/gear (of a vehicle)rapido is sometimes used imprecisely for this
rentothe return on an investmentrentumothe interest charged for creditinterezo (neologism)
respondito answerrespondumito be responsible forprirespondi 'to answer for', responsi (neologism)
rulito rollrulumito scroll
saposoapsapumito lather upsapi to soap
seksogenderseksumito have sexsekskuniĝi (seks-kun-iĝi) to join sexually, koiti to have coitus, amori to make love
sentito feelsentumoone of the five sensessenso (neologism)
stultastupidstultumito play the fool, to be purposefully obtuse
tendoa tenttendumito camp (with tents)bivaki to bivouac (without tents)
ventoa windventumito fan

See also

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