mummer
Plural: mummers
Noun
- A person who performs in a disguise or pantomime.
- an actor who communicates entirely by gesture and facial expression
- 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
- Synonym of mum (“to act in pantomime or dumb show”).
Examples
- He played MUMMER, hoping the rare word would surprise his Words With Friends opponent.
Origin / Etymology
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”).
Perhaps both of the conflated terms are from the same ultimate root, as note Middle Low Saxon mummen (“to speak indistinctly, to disguise oneself”), Dutch mommen (“to speak indistinctly”), German mummen (“to speak indistinctly”), English mump (“to grimace, mumble”).
Synonyms
Scrabble Score: 12
mummer: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordmummer: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
mummer: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary