# A Spelling Poll: 'Come' or 'Cum'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307 "2010-10-16T00:23:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Taenia\_spp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@Taenia\_spp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taenia_spp)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/1 "2010-10-16T00:23:22Z")
When colloquially referring to ejaculation, how do you spell it? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/2 "2010-10-16T00:27:22Z")
With a “um” when it’s a noun. With an “ome” when I’m using it as a verb. As in “After he came, there was cum everywhere.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/3 "2010-10-16T00:30:10Z")
I concur. ---
**Author:** ![Peeta\_Mellark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Peeta\_Mellark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peeta_Mellark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/4 "2010-10-16T00:39:15Z")
I spell it “come” whether it’s as a verb or a noun. “Cum” just looks illiterate and old-dirty-porn-guy-ish. ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/5 "2010-10-16T03:13:18Z")
Honestly, I don’t believe I’ve ever had a need to write it out. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/6 "2010-10-16T03:33:25Z")
‘Come’ looks sweet and sensual. ‘Cum’ looks nasty and exploitative. I have no idea why I view it that way. It’s totally arbitrary. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/7 "2010-10-16T03:36:18Z")
I just don’t understand why the words would be spelled the same. And of course cum looks nasty. That’s the point of it. It’s not a euphemism, but a vulgarism. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/8 "2010-10-16T03:44:36Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > With a “um” when it’s a noun. With an “ome” when I’m using it as a verb. This. A person comes. When a man comes, there is a release of cum. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/9 "2010-10-16T05:01:38Z")
Lou: “You know what? You’ve got spunk.” Mary: “Well, yes. . . .” Lou: “I hate spunk. . . .” ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/10 "2010-10-16T05:17:44Z")
I came. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/11 "2010-10-16T06:04:05Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I came. There is one net.erotica author who insists the past tense of “cum” is “cummed”. Drives me around the bend, and he is an otherwise reasonably good writer. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/12 "2010-10-16T06:12:45Z")
It doesn’t get much more pedantic than spelling cum as “come”. They are different words. If you do it that way, you are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/13 "2010-10-16T06:40:37Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > > [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > > I came. > > There is one net.erotica author who insists the past tense of “cum” is “cummed”. Drives me around the bend, and he is an otherwise reasonably good writer. As in “I cummed truckloads”? That’s stupid. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/14 "2010-10-16T07:14:45Z")
I’ll say. I can barely cum one truckload at my best, much less ‘truckloads’. Unless I change my name to Truck 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/15 "2010-10-16T07:29:34Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I’ll say. I can barely cum one truckload at my best, much less ‘truckloads’. > > Unless I change my name to Truck 😃 I have more nuts than Lance Armstrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ladymarmalade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@Ladymarmalade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ladymarmalade)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/16 "2010-10-16T08:26:17Z")
I would use “come” as the verb- the act of ejaculating. I would use “cum” as the noun- what was ejaculated. ---
**Author:** ![ratmanizhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5ac83/32.png) [@ratmanizhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratmanizhere)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/17 "2010-10-16T15:26:40Z")
He: “Oh God! I’m about to come!” She: “Where are we going?” ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/18 "2010-10-16T15:54:34Z")
I use ‘come’ because it is the correct spelling as far as I know. I think we should accept the change to the less classy ‘cum’ because it alleviates some confusion, some sentences have very different meanings depending on which version of ‘come’ or ‘came’ was intended. Not sure if I can accept ‘cummed’ though, it looks like really bad English. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/19 "2010-10-16T16:08:52Z")
“Cum” is just so _gross._ It looks illiterate and trashy. Also, I never saw it until maybe a decade ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307/20 "2010-10-16T16:47:38Z")
“Cum” is a Latin word meaning something like “and also”, totally unrelated to the word “come”. Spelling “come” that way is bad spelling, plain and simple. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spelling-poll-come-or-cum/557307.md?page=2)