# scum

> English word · Noun · IPA /skʌm/ · frequency rank #11,112

## Definitions
1. A layer of impurities that accumulates at the surface of a liquid (especially molten metal or water).
2. A greenish water vegetation (such as algae), usually found floating on the surface of ponds
3. The topmost liquid layer of a cesspool or septic tank.
4. Semen.
5. A reprehensible person or persons.

## Etymology
From Middle English scum, scome, skum, skome, scumme, from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch schūme (“foam”), from Old Dutch *scūm, from Frankish *skūm, from Proto-Germanic *skūmaz (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, conceal”).
Cognate with Dutch schuim (“foam”), West Frisian skuum, German Schaum (“foam”), Danish and Swedish skum (“foam”). Compare also French écume (“scum”), Italian schiuma (“foam”), Saterland Frisian Skuum, Sicilian scuma (“foam”), Walloon schome (“scum, foam”), Lithuanian šamas (“catfish”) and skanus (“tasty”) from the same Germanic source. Related to skim.

## Easily confused with
- **su** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-su)
- **SM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sm)
- **sun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sun)
- **sub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sub)
- **sum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sum)
- **sue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sue)
- **SIM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sim)
- **SUV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-suv)
- **sup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sup)
- **sem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sem)
- **Stu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-stu)
- **som** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-som)
- **Sus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sus)
- **Sui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sui)
- **suh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-suh)
- **Sul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sul)
- **Siu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-siu)
- **sou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sou)
- **sud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-sud)
- **STM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scum-vs-stm)

## Common misspellings (6)
`csum`, `sccum`, `scmu`, `scumm`, `sscum`, `sucm`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/scum