gum¹ / gəm/ • n. 1. a viscous secretion of some trees and shrubs that hardens on drying but is soluble in water, and from which adhesives and other products are made. Compare with resin. ∎  glue that is used for sticking paper or other light materials together. ∎ short for chewing gum or bubblegum. ∎  a gum tree, esp. a eucalyptus. See also sweet gum.2. dated a long rubber boot.• v. (gummed, gum·ming) [tr.] cover with gum or glue: [as adj.] (gummed) gummed paper. ∎  [tr.] fasten with gum or glue: I was gumming small green leaves to a paper tree. ∎  (gum something up) clog up a mechanism and prevent it from working properly: open and close the valves to make sure they don't get gummed up. | fig. there was no winner and they debated the factors that could have gummed up the works. gum² • n. the firm area of flesh around the roots of the teeth in the upper or lower jaw: a tooth broken off just above the gum | [as adj.] gum disease. • v. (gummed, gum·ming) [tr.] chew with toothless gums: some grandmother gumming a meal.gum³ • n. (in phrase by gum!) an exclamation used for emphasis.

GUM

The acronym GUM stands for Main Department Store (Glavnyi universal'nyi magazin), and indeed, from the time it opened in 1953, GUM was the Soviet Union's largest and busiest retail establishment. Located on the northeast corner of Red Square, GUM occupies the historic premises of Moscow's Upper Trading Rows. This enormous glass-roofed complex, completed in 1893, might be considered an early shopping mall; in the late imperial period, it housed between three hundred and one thousand shops at a time. The Upper Trading Rows were nationalized along with other commercial businesses in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, and were almost immediately converted into office space for the new Soviet bureaucracy. The New Economic Policy of the 1920s brought a brief revival of trade in the building when the municipal government established a five-and-dime emporium there, but it soon reverted to administrative use.

When the premises were refurbished for retailing during the early 1950s, the emphasis was no longer on discounted sales. GUM became the Soviet capital's most prestigious store, with specialized departments for such luxuries as Central Asian rugs, televisions, crystal stemware, and fur coats. Another department, Section 200, sold luxury wares exclusively to the Soviet elite; entry into this department was by permit only.

In 1992 GUM was reorganized as a joint-stock company. According to a 1991 formula, onequarter of the shares went to the Moscow city government and one-quarter to employees, while the balance was sold to private investors.

See also: red square

Julie Hessler

gum Substances that can disperse in water to form a viscous mucilaginous mass. Used in food processing to stabilize emulsions (such as salad dressings and processed cheese), as a thickening agent, and in sugar confectionery.

The substances may be extracted from seeds (guar gum, locust (carob), quince, psyllium), plant sap or exudates (gum arabic, karaya or sterculia, tragacanth, ghatti, bassora or hog gum, shiraz, mesquite, anguo), and seaweeds (agar, kelp, alginate, Irish moss), or they may be made from starch or cellulose. Most (apart from dextrins) are not digested and have no food value, although they contribute to the intake of non‐starch polysaccharides. See also fibre, soluble.

gum
1. Any of a variety of substances obtained from plants. Typically they are insoluble in organic solvents but form gelatinous or sticky solutions with water. Gum resins are mixtures of gums and natural resins. Gums are produced by the young xylem vessels of some plants (mainly trees) in response to wounding or pruning. The exudate hardens when it reaches the plant surface and thus provides a temporary protective seal while the cells below divide to form a permanent repair. Excessive gum formation is a symptom of some plant diseases. See also mucilage.

2. See gingiva.

gum Secretions of plants. Gums are chemically complex, consisting mainly of various saccharides bound to organic acids. Common examples are gum arabic (used as an adhesive on envelopes and postage stamps), agar and tragacanth. Chewing gum is derived from the sapodilla tree. See also eucalyptus; resins