Added 9 October 2026
mummer
/ˈmʌm.ə(ɹ)/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about mummer at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A person who dons a disguising costume, as for a parade or a festival.
- An actor in a pantomime; one who communicates entirely through gesture and facial expression.
verb
Origin
From Middle English mummer, mommer, equivalent to mum + -er, perhaps conflating with Old French momeor (“jester, entertainer”), from mommer (“to wear a mask”), from momon (“mask”). Compare German Mumme (“mask”), 16th Century German mummen (“to disguise oneself”), Middle Dutch mommen, mummen (“to go about in a mask, to disguise”), Middle Low Saxon mommen (“to wear a mask, to disguise”), Dutch mom (“mask”) and mimmen (“to mask”) as well as Spanish momo (“grimace”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)