boojum

1 of 2

noun (1)

boo·​jum ˈbü-jəm 

: a tall spiny long-lived desert tree (Fouquieria columnaris synonym Idria columnaris) native to northwestern Mexico and related to the ocotillo

boogum

2 of 2

noun (2)

boo·​gum

ˈbü-gəm

variants or boojum

ˈbü-jəm 

plural -s

: a spiny tree (Idria columnaris) of the family Fouquieriaceae chiefly of Lower California sometimes arching over and rooting at its tips

Examples of boojum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As Lewis Carroll might have said, outliving the snark is one way to never become your own boojum. — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 29 July 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

perhaps from boojum, an imaginary creature in The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll; from its grotesque appearance

Noun (2)

perhaps from boojum, an imaginary creature in The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll (C.L.Dodgson) †1898 English mathematician & writer; from its grotesque appearance

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1951, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1951, in the meaning defined above