entry
consume
/kənˈsjuːm/use up, eat, or destroy completely
From Latin com- (with) + Latin sumere (to take up) + Latin sub- (under).
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Latin consumere "to use up, eat, waste,"
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Latin consumere "to use up, eat, waste,"
from Latin consumere "to use up, eat, waste,"
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
Word Ancestry
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Latin consumere "to use up, eat, waste,"
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Latin consumere "to use up, eat, waste,"
from Latin consumere "to use up, eat, waste,"
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
from Old French consumer "to consume" (12c.) and directly
There’s a neat little trapdoor inside consume: it looks plain enough, but it was built on the idea of taking something up and using it until there’s nothing left. Latin sumere already meant “to take up,” and when it got an extra push from com-, the result was a verb with real appetite — not just eating, but wearing out, burning down, and draining dry. That same Latin family gives us consummate and consumption, so the glamorous and the grim are neighbors in the dictionary. Even deeper, sumere was assembled from sub- plus emere, the “take” verb that also lives behind redemption and redeem, which makes this word feel like a tiny Roman machine for acquisition and depletion. By the late 1300s English had borrowed the whole package from Old French consumer, and the modern sense of being mentally absorbed is just the old idea of being used up, but with attention instead of coal. Consume is what happens when taking goes too far: not just possession, but disappearance.
The Story
There’s a neat little trapdoor inside consume: it looks plain enough, but it was built on the idea of taking something up and using it until there’s nothing left. Latin sumere already meant “to take up,” and when it got an extra push from com-, the result was a verb with real appetite — not just eating, but wearing out, burning down, and draining dry. That same Latin family gives us consummate and consumption, so the glamorous and the grim are neighbors in the dictionary. Even deeper, sumere was assembled from sub- plus emere, the “take” verb that also lives behind redemption and redeem, which makes this word feel like a tiny Roman machine for acquisition and depletion. By the late 1300s English had borrowed the whole package from Old French consumer, and the modern sense of being mentally absorbed is just the old idea of being used up, but with attention instead of coal. Consume is what happens when taking goes too far: not just possession, but disappearance.
Modern Usage
a playful command in drinking-game talk meaning 'drink now,' and in fantasy-football slang, to outscore or overtake someone
Popularized by: internet and Urban Dictionary usage in niche communities
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries used in fan and gaming circles
Kin & Kindred
From 'com-'·with, together; here intensive
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'sumere'·to take up, take in, use up
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'sub-'·under, up from under
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'emere'·to take, buy
Derived Terms
English words from this root