mum·my¹ (mŭm'ē)
n., pl., -mies.

1. The dead body of a human or animal that has been embalmed and prepared for burial, as according to the practices of the ancient Egyptians.
2. A withered, shrunken, or well-preserved body that resembles an embalmed body.

[Middle English mummie, medicinal material from embalmed corpses, from Old French momie, from Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic mūmīya, from mūm, wax, from Persian.]

mum·my² (mŭm'ē)
n. Informal, pl., -mies.
Mother.

[Alteration of MOMMY or MUM³.]

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---