chum (n.1)
"friend, intimate companion," 1680s, originally university slang for "roommate," an alternative spelling of cham, short for chamber(mate); the formation is typical of the late-17c. fondness for clipped words.
Among derived forms used 19c. were chumship; chummery "shared BACHELOR quarters," chummage "system of quartering more than one to a room."
chum (n.2)
"FISH BAIT" consisting usually of pieces of some OTHER fish, 1857, perhaps from Scottish chum "food."
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