cum
part of speech
preposition (cum)
meaning for a pupil
1) (formal, from Latin) Combined with; also being used as: «a kitchen-cum-dining room» is one room that is both a kitchen and a dining room; «a shed-cum-workshop». tree →
2) (Latin, school and university) In Latin, «cum» means «with», as in the university honours «cum laude» (with praise) and «magna cum laude» (with great praise). tree →
3) (rude, adult slang) A rude word grown-ups use; not for school. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday British English and in house adverts, «X-cum-Y» means one thing doing two jobs. In American school and college life, students graduate «cum laude». In names of English places, «cum» joins villages, as in «Chorlton-cum-Hardy» in Manchester. Phrases: «X-cum-Y», «cum laude», «magna cum laude», «summa cum laude».
examples
- Our kitchen-cum-dining room is where we do homework. tree →
- Dad uses the garage as a gym-cum-workshop. tree →
- My aunt graduated magna cum laude from college. tree →
- The spare room is a study-cum-guest room. tree →
- Chorlton-cum-Hardy is part of Manchester. tree →
note
Said «kum» (rhymes with «sum»). Usually written with hyphens between the two things: bedroom-cum-office. «Summa cum laude» is the highest honour, «magna cum laude» next, «cum laude» third. Because of the rude slang sense, careful writers often use «combined with» or «and» instead.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «cum» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.