-um

(Greek > Latin: a suffix that forms singular nouns)

Here are just a few of the hundreds of words that end with -um.

centrum
A thick mass of bone in a vertebra that is the point of attachment to the vertebrae above and below.
cerebellum
1. A large portion of the brain, which serves to coordinate voluntary movements, posture, and balance in humans, being in back of and below the cerebrum and consisting of two lateral lobes and a central lobe.
2. A large dorsally projecting part of the brain concerned especially with the coordination of muscles and the maintenance of bodily equilibrium, situated between the brain stem and the back of the cerebrum and formed in humans of two lateral lobes and a median lobe.
cerebrum (s), cerebra (pl)
The large rounded structure of the brain occupying most of the cranial cavity, divided into two cerebral hemispheres that are joined at the bottom by the corpus callosum. It controls and integrates motor, sensory, and higher mental functions, such as thought, reason, emotion, and memory.
chloralum
An impure aqueous solution of chloride of aluminum, used as an antiseptic and disinfectant.
chondrocranium
A cartilaginous skull; the cartilaginous (connective tissue substance) parts of the developing skull.
chromium
Information is located at Chemical Element: chromium.
cilium (s), cilia (pl)
A fine hairlike projection from a cell; such as, those in the respiratory tract.

Cilia can help to sweep away fluids and particles. Some single-celled organisms use the rhythmical motion of cilia for locomotion.

Cilium is Latin referring to the edge of the eyelid and, much later, to the eyelashes. In the same sense, cilia came to refer to the fine hairlike projections from cells.

cinerarium (s) (noun), cineraria (pl)
A niche for a funeral urn containing the ashes of the cremated dead: "The funeral parlor had several cineraria in which to display the various styles of urns for the ashes of those who had been cremated."
colostrum
A yellowish fluid rich in antibodies and minerals that a mother's breasts produce after giving birth and before the production of true milk. It provides newborns with immunity to infections.
columbarium (s) (noun), columbaria (pl)
1. Also known as a columbary, a vault with niches for urns containing ashes of the dead: "At the funeral, the eldest child placed the urn of the ashes of the parent in the columbarium at the town’s cemetery."
2. A dovecote, or a pigeonhole in a dovecote (or dovecot), is a roost for domesticated pigeons: "There was an artistically designed columbarium for the pigeons in the corner of the farm yard."
3. Etymology: from Latin, columba, dove (pigeon); then it came to mean "a sepurchre for urns" and a "dovecote"."
compendium (s) (noun), compendia (pl)
1. A comprehensive but brief account of a subject; especially, as presented in book form.
2. A list or compilation of various items.
3. A publication containing a variety of works.
compluvium (s) (noun), compluvia (pl)
An open space over the atrium of a Roman house through which the rain flew into the impluvium or cistern (Roman antiquity): The little girl sat down on a bench in the garden of her home in Rome looking up at the stars through the compluvium, dreaming of her future husband.
condominium, condo (s) (noun); condominiums; condos (pl)
1. In architecture, an individually owned unit of real estate, especially an apartment or townhouse, in a building or on land that is owned in common by the owners of the units: Jim told his friend that he intended to buy a condominium before he retired because he was tired of renting an apartment.
2. A building or complex containing apartments or townhouses: The condominium on the corner has a great view of the ravine and river that is just across the street.
3. In politics, a country governed by two or more different countries with joint responsibilities: The countries on both sides of the river agreed to a condominium so that neither one would have sole ownership of the river and the commerce that used it.
4. Etymology: from Modern Latin, "joint sovereignty", apparently coined in German about 1700 from com-, "together" + dominum, "right of ownership".

The sense of "privately owned apartment" came into existence in American English, about 1962, as a special use of the legal term.

An apartment complex in which people can own their apartments.
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consortium (s), consortia (pl)
1. An association or grouping of institutions, businesses, or financial organizations, usually set up for a common purpose that would be beyond the capabilities of a single member of the group.
2. An association or a combination, as of businesses, financial institutions, or investors, for the purpose of engaging in a joint venture.
3. A cooperative arrangement among groups or institutions.
4. The right of a husband or wife to the company, affection, and help of, and sexual relations with, his or her spouse.
continuum (s), continua (pl)
1. A link between two things, or a continuous series of things, that blend into each other so gradually and seamlessly that it is impossible to say where one becomes the next; such as, a rainbow forms a continuum of color.
2. A set of real numbers between any two of which a third can always be found, and in which there are no gaps.
3. A continuous non-spatial whole or extent or succession in which no part or portion is distinct of distinguishable from adjacent parts.