crumb

See also: Crumb

English

Alternative forms

• crimb (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English crome, cromme, crumme, crume, from Old English cruma (“crumb, fragment”), from Proto-Germanic *krumô, *krūmô (“fragment, crumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *grū-mo- (“something scraped together, lumber, junk; to claw, scratch”), from *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist, wind”). The b is unetymological, as in limb, appearing in the mid-15th century to match crumble and words like dumb, numb, thumb. Cognate with Dutch kruim (“crumb”), Low German Krome, Krume (“crumb”), German Krume (“crumb”), Danish krumme (“crumb”), Swedish dialectal krumma (“crumb”), Swedish inkråm (“crumbs, giblets”), Icelandic krumur (“crumb”), Latin grūmus (“a little heap”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɹʌm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌm

Noun

crumb (countable and uncountable, plural crumbs)

1. A small piece which breaks off from baked food (such as cake, biscuit or bread).

   The pigeons were happily pecking at crumbs of bread on the ground.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 16:21:

     desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table

   • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:

     At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.

2. A small piece of any other solid substance.
   • 2012, Caroline Joy Adams, An Italic Calligraphy Handbook, page 79:

     Then erase any pencil lines with a good, soft eraser, rubbing gently, in only one direction. A dustbrush can be useful in removing any eraser crumbs.

3. (figuratively) A bit, small amount.

   a crumb of comfort

4. Short for crumb rubber.
   • 2007, R. E. Hester, R. M. Harrison, Waste Treatment and Disposal, page 109:

     Production of rubber granules, or crumb, is well-established in this country.

5. The soft internal portion of bread, surrounded by crust.
   • 1861, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford:

     Dust unto dust, what must be, must; / If you can't get crumb, you'd best eat crust.

6. A mixture of sugar, cocoa and milk, used to make industrial chocolate.
7. (slang) A nobody; a worthless person.
   • 1999, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Alice on the Outside, page 146:

     All Dad can think of is a gift certificate from the Melody Inn? And my crumb of a boyfriend doesn't even show up? This is a birthday?

8. (slang) A body louse (Pediculus humanus).

Synonyms

• (crumbled food): crumbling
• (small amount): see also Thesaurus:modicum.

Derived terms

• breadcrumb
• bread crumb
• by crumbs
• cake crumbs
• crumb cake
• crumb cruncher
• crumb-cruncher
• crumb-crusher
• crumb crusher
• crumber
• crumb grinder
• crumble
• crumb rubber
• crumb snatcher
• crumbum
• crumby, crummy
• eat and leave no crumbs
• leave no crumbs
• pick up one's crumbs

 

Related terms

• crumble
• crumpet
• crumbum

Translations

small piece of biscuit, cake, etc

• Arabic: كِسْرَة f (kisra), فُتَات m (futāt)

  Egyptian Arabic: حتّة, فتفوتة

• Armenian: փշրանք (hy) (pʿšrankʿ), փշուր (hy) (pʿšur)
• Azerbaijani: qırıntı
• Belarusian: кро́шка f (króška)
• Bulgarian: троха́ (bg) f (trohá)
• Catalan: engruna (ca) f, mica (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Dungan: зазазы (zazazɨ), зазар (zazar)

  Mandarin: 渣 (zh) (zhā), 渣兒／渣儿 (zh) (zhār), 屑 (zh) (xiè) (all refer to tiny piece in general)

• Czech: drobek (cs) m
• Danish: krumme c
• Dutch: kruimel (nl) m
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: murunen (fi)
• French: miette (fr) f
• Galician: migalla (gl) f, frangulla (gl) f
• Georgian: ნამცეცი (namceci)
• German: Krümel (de) m, (Austria) Brösel (de) m, (regional) Brosame (de) m
• Greek: ψίχουλο (el) n (psíchoulo), τρίμμα (el) n (trímma)

  Ancient: ψιχίον n (psikhíon)

• Hebrew: פֵּרוּר (he) m (pērur)
• Hungarian: morzsa (hu)
• Igbo: ághíríghá
• Irish: grabhróg f, bruscar (ga) m (collective)
• Italian: briciola (it) f
• Japanese: 屑 (ja) (くず, kuzu), かす (ja) (kasu)
• Kazakh: қиқым (qiqym), қоқым (qoqym)
• Khmer: សាច់ (km) (sac)
• Korean: 부스러기 (ko) (buseureogi)
• Kyrgyz: күкүм (küküm)
• Lao: ເສດ (sēt)
• Latin: frustum n, mīca (la) f
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: trupinys m
• Luxembourgish: Grimmel f
• Macedonian: тро́шка f (tróška)
• Nanai: пурумсэ (purumse)
• Old English: cruma m
• Persian: خرده (fa) (xorde)
• Plautdietsch: Kjreemel m
• Polish: okruch (pl)
• Portuguese: migalha (pt) f
• Romanian: sfărâmătură (ro) f, fărâmă (ro) f, fărâmătură (ro) f (regionalism)
• Russian: кро́шка (ru) f (króška)
• Scots: crum, pran
• Scottish Gaelic: criomag f, (collective) sprùilleach m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мрвица f

  Roman: mrvica (sh) f

• Slovak: drobček m
• Slovene: drobtina (sl) f
• Spanish: miga (es) f
• Swedish: smula (sv) c
• Tajik: реза (reza)
• Tarifit: awezwiz m
• Thai: เศษ (th) (sèet)
• Turkish: kırıntı (tr)
• Ukrainian: кри́хта f (krýxta)
• Uzbek: uvoq (uz)
• Vietnamese: miếng (vi), mẫu (vi), mảnh vụn (vi)
• Waigali: pićã
• Welsh: briwsionyn m
• Yiddish: ברעקל (brekl)

(figurative) small amount

• Arabic:

  Egyptian Arabic: حتّة, فتفوتة

• Bulgarian: троха́ (bg) f (trohá)
• Catalan: mica (ca) f, molla (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 少許／少许 (zh) (shǎoxǔ)

• Czech: drobek (cs) m
• Dutch: kruimel (nl) m, morzel (nl)
• Finnish: murunen (fi)
• Galician: migalla (gl) f, frangulla (gl) f
• German: Krümel (de) m, (Austria) Brösel (de) m
• Greek: ψίχουλα (el) n pl (psíchoula)
• Hungarian: morzsányi (hu)
• Italian: briciola (it) f
• Japanese: 欠片 (ja) (かけら, kakera)
• Macedonian: тро́шка f (tróška)
• Maori: kongakonga
• Portuguese: migalha (pt) f
• Russian: кро́шка (ru) f (króška), кро́ха (ru) f (króxa), крупи́ца (ru) f (krupíca)
• Scots: crum
• Scottish Gaelic: criomag f
• Spanish: miga (es) f, cacho (es) m
• Swedish: smula (sv) c

soft internal portion of bread

• Adyghe: купсэ (kʷupsɛ)
• Arabic: لُبّ m (lubb)

  Egyptian Arabic: قلب

  Moroccan Arabic: بطعة f (baṭʕa), لبابة f (lbāba)

• Bulgarian: среда (bg) f (sreda)
• Catalan: molla (ca) f, resquitx m
• Czech: střída m, střídka (cs) m
• Dutch: kruim (nl) n
• Finnish: sisus (fi)
• French: mie (fr) f
• Galician: miga (gl) f, rafa (gl) f, miolo (gl) m
• German: Krume (de) f
• Greek: ψίχα (el) f (psícha)
• Hungarian: kenyérbél (hu)
• Irish: croí (ga) m
• Italian: mollica (it) f
• Polish: miękisz m
• Portuguese: miolo (de pão) m
• Romanian: miez (ro) n
• Russian: мя́киш (ru) m (mjákiš)
• Scots: crum
• Scottish Gaelic: sprùilleach f
• Spanish: miga (es) f, migaja (es) f
• Swedish: inkråm n
• Tatar: эпэй йомшагы (epey yomşağı)
• Turkish: ekmek içi
• Venetian: mołéna f
• Welsh: mwydion m pl (North), bywyn m (South)

mixture to make industrial chocolate

• Italian: impasto (it) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} tul (sq) m, ^{(please verify)} thërrime (sq) f pl
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} firimitură (ro) f, ^{(please verify)} fărâmă (ro) f

Verb

crumb (third-person singular simple present crumbs, present participle crumbing, simple past and past participle crumbed)

1. (transitive) To cover with crumbs.
2. (transitive) To break into crumbs or small pieces with the fingers; to crumble.

   to crumb bread

Derived terms

• crumb down
• crumbed

Related terms

• crumple

Translations

to cover with crumbs

• Bulgarian: троша (bg) (troša)
• Dutch: paneren (nl)
• Finnish: leivittää (fi)
• French: paner (fr)
• German: panieren (de)
• Italian: impanare (it)
• Russian: кроши́ть (ru) (krošítʹ)
• Spanish: empanar (es)
• Swedish: panera (sv)

to break into crumbs or small pieces with the fingers — see crumble