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lum

Dialect
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In Scots Dialect, lum means a chimney or fireplace flue, especially the part of a house through which smoke rises.

Detailed Definition
Lum* is a traditional Scots word for a chimney, often suggesting the hearth and the warm domestic space around it as well as the physical smoke passage. In poetry, it can evoke rural Scottish homes, firelight, and household life. Because it is Dialect vocabulary, it also helps establish a distinctly Scottish voice and setting.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Violet Jacob’s “Hallowe’en,” the speaker says: “A new heid horseman’s kist is set Richts o’ the lum” Here, lum means the chimney or fireplace area in the bothie, or cottage. The new horseman’s chest has been placed near the hearth where Lachlan’s chest once stood, making the familiar room painfully remind the speaker of Lachlan’s absence.
Additional Notes
Lum is chiefly a Scots term, though related forms have appeared in northern English Dialects. It usually refers to a chimney, but its meaning may include the flue, chimney stack, or the hearth-side area, depending on context. The word is especially common in descriptions of cottages and traditional rural homes. Related Scots domestic terms in Jacob’s poem include bothie (“small cottage”) and lowe (“flame” or “glow”). Do not confuse lum with the English word lumen, a unit used to measure light.
Also Known As
Chimney Hearth-Flue Smoke Vent Lumhead
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