rum in the British navy, rum was formerly regulation issue for sailors; in Australia during the early days of New South Wales it was also an important medium of exchange.

In North America, from the early 19th century, rum has been used generically for intoxicating liquor, particularly by those advocating temperance.
Rum Hospital a hospital in Sydney, Australia, the building of which was undertaken in return for the granting of a monopoly on the import of spirits from 1810 to 1814.
Rum Rebellion the rebellion against William Bligh, Governor of New South Wales, by officers of the New South Wales Corps (the Rum (Puncheon) Corps) in 1808, when Bligh had attempted to limit the importation of spirits into the Colony.

rum¹ / rəm/ • n. an alcoholic liquor distilled from sugar-cane residues or molasses. ∎  intoxicating liquor.rum² • adj. (rum·mer , rum·mest ) Brit., inf., dated odd; peculiar: it's a rum business, certainly they were a rum bunch.DERIVATIVES: rum·ly adv.rum·ness n.

rum Spirit distilled from fermented sugar cane juice or molasses; may be colourless and light‐tasting or dark and with a strong flavour. Traditionally rum is darker and more strongly flavoured the further south in the Caribbean it is made.

There are three main categories: Cuban, Jamaican, and Dutch East Indian; and several types: aguardiente (Spain, Portugal, and S. America), Bacardi (trade name, originally from Cuba), cachaca (Brazil), cane spirit (S. Africa), Demerara rum (Guyana); 35–60% alcohol by volume, 250–420 kcal (1.0–1.8 MJ) per 100 mL.

rum Alcoholic spirit made by the fermentation of molasses and other sugar-cane products, which are then distilled. When distilled, rum is colourless, but storage in wooden casks and the addition of caramel give it a brown colour.

rum2 (sl.) queer, odd. XVIII. of uncert. orig.
Also rummy¹ (-Y1) XIX.