Main Entry: ¹sum

Pronunciation: \ˈsəm\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English summe, from Anglo-French sume, somme, from Latin summa, from feminine of summus highest; akin to Latin super over — more at over

Date: 14th century

1 : an indefinite or specified amount of money
2 : the whole amount : aggregate
3 : the utmost degree : summit <reached the sum of human happiness>
4 a : a summary of the chief points or thoughts : summation <the sum of this criticism follows — C. W. Hendel> b : gist <the sum and substance of an argument>
5 a (1) : the result of adding numbers <the sum of 5 and 7 is 12> (2) : the limit of the sum of the first n terms of an infinite series as n increases indefinitely b : numbers to be added; broadly : a problem in arithmetic c (1) : disjunction 2 (2) : union 2d

— sum·ma·bil·i·ty \ˌsə-mə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

— sum·ma·ble \ˈsə-mə-bəl\ adjective

— in sum : in short : briefly