Vocabulary question: come, cum, coming, cumming

Hey, new author here. In each pair below, which is correct:

She started coming hard on his cock
She started cumming hard on his cock.

When she stood up her hands were covered in cum.
When she stood up her hands were covered in come.

I’m assuming the first line of each but I’m unsure, I’ve seen stories with both.

You'll get answers every which way on this one, and no one is truly right.

I use "come" as the verb and "cum" as the noun. I can't make myself write "He cummed." Others disagree and like "cum" as the verb as well.

So my response to your question is yes to each of the first lines.

But come as a noun is just plain weird.

Erotica publishers are still tending toward come/coming as a verb and cum as a noun, but the long-term trend probably is toward the differentiation provided by cum/cumming/cum.

I think either is accepted here at Literotica with the guidance that you should be consistent with your choice.

If it's about sex, I use cum (unless it's past tense. But I don't use that very often). So cum for noun, cum for verb, cummy for adjective... etc.

If it's "come," sex is not the context.

But, as others have said, nobody's right and nobody's wrong. Context is everything, though, if you use "come."

AlinaX said:

But come as a noun is just plain weird.

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Only in the last couple of decades, and in the eye of the beholder (no, not the literal meaning!). All through the twentieth century it's been come. Cum is a later cultural addition, so it comes down to what you're used to, I reckon. If you lived in the nineteenth century it would have been spend. I'm not sure when that fell out of use.

I had a comment recently where someone said, "Thank goodness you still write come, I really do prefer that to cum."

My auto-correct always changes 'cum' to 'fun' which is appropriate in a way, but not so classy, to my way of thinking. Cum is always more of a porn trope for me, used when appropriate but more the exception than the rule in my writing.

Cum as a verb? That will never happen in any story of mine unless a character is deliberately playing along to a porn trope. 'Cummed' is almost always a back click for me, it just looks wrong. Same as 'come' for many, I guess. There's no "correct" though - it's the English language, when has it ever followed a single rule?

Most people are going to say 'come' is the verb and 'cum' is the noun, no matter where you go. It's hardly a standard, and some readers will complain no matter what combination you use, but so far as consensus goes, that's as close as you'll get. It's the most widely accepted combination.

Cum
To cum
Cumming
Came

Just my 2c.

SimonDoom said:

You'll get answers every which way on this one, and no one is truly right.

I use "come" as the verb and "cum" as the noun. I can't make myself write "He cummed." Others disagree and like "cum" as the verb as well.

So my response to your question is yes to each of the first lines.

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Yes. .

I agree that consistency is very important, and that "cum" is a newer description compared to "come".

Since I have such a long project, with so many varied characters, I sort of play around with the idea of using different words for different actors.

The moment to moment narration, which is not specific to anyone and just moves the story along, is more formal. As is what I choose to use when most of the characters are thinking "inside of their heads".

But when an actor is in quotes and actually speaking? I use whatever term is appropriate for their own background, mood and situation. Think of how accents are used and so important to movies and television. If the camera is only on one person in a huge group, the hidden dialogue would be confusing, except for the clues in the off screen person's voice.

My older characters don't even use cum or come. The more prim and proper younger ones don't either. Instead I concentrate on what they say, how loud they moan, how their legs are shaking, fingers and toes are curling up, and the increasing or slowing back down of their breathing.

During the editing process, at least when I am actually do more good than harm, I am on the constant lookout for sexual terms and which ones are being used too much.

A woman might never even say cock, dick, pussy or cunt. Maybe just as she is having her orgasm, and it's peaking, a forbidden word for HER might get uttered. A man wanting his girlfriend to hurt him, to keep from coming too soon, might just place her hands wherever he wants that sort of help.

I guess what I am saying is, your very question is actually an opportunity.

Since your characters are different from each other, have different moods and desires, use your word choices for them as yet another layer to teach your readers about them.

I don't see how this applies to whether to write "come" or "cum" in separate characters' dialogue. The words sound the same. In dialogue, spelling doesn't have any roll to play on words pronounced the same.

JoeX1 said:

Hey, new author here. In each pair below, which is correct:

She started coming hard on his cock
She started cumming hard on his cock.

When she stood up her hands were covered in cum.
When she stood up her hands were covered in come.

I’m assuming the first line of each but I’m unsure, I’ve seen stories with both.

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I always use coming/come/came as the verb. It’s a word that explains an action which is about to occur/is occurring/has occurred. Cum is the substance produced as a result of the action.

Cum/cumming as a verb is porn. Which makes you wonder what kind of life the population of Cumming, Georgia enjoy.

KeithD said:

I don't see how this applies to whether to write "come" or "cum" in separate characters' dialogue. The words sound the same. In dialogue, spelling doesn't have any roll to play on words pronounced the same.

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It expresses how they think of the stuff. An older character, or a more Establishment-type figure is more likely to use 'come' as the noun; someone who is crude or simply very used to reading video titled that say 'cum' will be thinking 'cum'.

Or if the narrative is from the point of view of one character, again it's relevant.

I know I'm in a minority sticking to 'come' as the noun, but it's consistent with my being an old-fashioned type who rejects 'alright' and has a fetish for semi-colons.

If I try writing from the POV of a trendy porn-watching type, or anyone who would never have written the word outside a search for their preferred porn, then I'll have to use 'cum'.

Kumquatqueen said:

It expresses how they think of the stuff. An older character, or a more Establishment-type figure is more likely to use 'come' as the noun; someone who is crude or simply very used to reading video titled that say 'cum' will be thinking 'cum'.

Or if the narrative is from the point of view of one character, again it's relevant.

I know I'm in a minority sticking to 'come' as the noun, but it's consistent with my being an old-fashioned type who rejects 'alright' and has a fetish for semi-colons.

If I try writing from the POV of a trendy porn-watching type, or anyone who would never have written the word outside a search for their preferred porn, then I'll have to use 'cum'.

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Sorry, it means nothing in that context, not least because no clear distinction exists on why someone uses one spelling of that particular word of any other. When someone says the word "come/cum," how it's spelled, as long as it's pronounced the same, means absolutely nothing. This is overthink.

Emirus said:

Cum/cumming as a verb is porn. Which makes you wonder what kind of life the population of Cumming, Georgia enjoy.

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Well, the more, the merrier, I say. I imagine they're a rather merry bunch.

Kumquatqueen said:

It expresses how they think of the stuff. An older character, or a more Establishment-type figure is more likely to use 'come' as the noun; someone who is crude or simply very used to reading video titled that say 'cum' will be thinking 'cum'.

Or if the narrative is from the point of view of one character, again it's relevant.

I know I'm in a minority sticking to 'come' as the noun, but it's consistent with my being an old-fashioned type who rejects 'alright' and has a fetish for semi-colons.

If I try writing from the POV of a trendy porn-watching type, or anyone who would never have written the word outside a search for their preferred porn, then I'll have to use 'cum'.

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I think what Keith is saying -- he can correct me if I'm wrong -- and I agree with him on this point, is that it makes no difference to write:

"I like when you cum," said the stuffy old English gentleman.

Versus

"I like when you come," said the stuffy old English gentleman.

There's no difference, because the choice of spelling is up to the narrator/author, not the speaker within the story. You wouldn't write it one way if the speaker is a stuffy old English gentleman and a different way if the speaker is a male porn star. That would be weird -- for the author to vary spellings.

It would make a difference if the story were told in first person.

For instance, depending on the story:

I may be a stuffy old English gentleman, but I sure like to watch a woman come.

Might be more appropriate than

I may be a stuffy old English gentelman, but I sure like to watch a woman cum.

Right. In this context it would hit the reader as author sloppiness and inconsistency long before it would occur that maybe the character spelled out in her/his mind the words he/she was saying (which doesn't make much sense).

SimonDoom said:

I think what Keith is saying -- he can correct me if I'm wrong -- and I agree with him on this point, is that it makes no difference to write:

"I like when you cum," said the stuffy old English gentleman.

Versus

"I like when you come," said the stuffy old English gentleman.

There's no difference, because the choice of spelling is up to the narrator/author, not the speaker within the story. You wouldn't write it one way if the speaker is a stuffy old English gentleman and a different way if the speaker is a male porn star. That would be weird -- for the author to vary spellings.

It would make a difference if the story were told in first person.

For instance, depending on the story:

I may be a stuffy old English gentleman, but I sure like to watch a woman come.

Might be more appropriate than

I may be a stuffy old English gentelman, but I sure like to watch a woman cum.

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It wouldn't matter who is speaking

What matters is who is writing.

For me, its Cum as the substance, but everything else is come/coming

I never use the "cum" spelling, ever. It's always "come" or "coming" in my writtens. But that's just me.

Kumquatqueen said:

It expresses how they think of the stuff. An older character, or a more Establishment-type figure is more likely to use 'come' as the noun; someone who is crude or simply very used to reading video titled that say 'cum' will be thinking 'cum'.

Or if the narrative is from the point of view of one character, again it's relevant.

I know I'm in a minority sticking to 'come' as the noun, but it's consistent with my being an old-fashioned type who rejects 'alright' and has a fetish for semi-colons.

If I try writing from the POV of a trendy porn-watching type, or anyone who would never have written the word outside a search for their preferred porn, then I'll have to use 'cum'.

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Stick to how you want to write it whether it’s come or cum and don’t give a toss what anyone else does or thinks how it should be. It’s no one else’s business how you want to write it. Nor if you want to change how you write it.

At the end of the day; there are alternate words, if one us that torn

WoodmanStark said:

I never use the "cum" spelling, ever. It's always "come" or "coming" in my writtens. But that's just me.

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Me too. I just don't like the way the word "cum" looks written out. Personal quirk.

In fact, this'll probably be my only post ever that contains that word!

lovecraft68 said:

For me, its Cum as the substance, but everything else is come/coming

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"Cum as the Substance" ...is the name of my new band.

Beyond that, lovecraft68 has a pretty good rule.

I've written it every way possible, depending on the voice of the narrator, but there are averages that seem to work pretty well. "Coming" with an "o" is probably smoother linguistically, and maybe grammatically, too. Pointing out spots of "cum" (with a "u") is a great way to differentiate between homonyms, but there's no hard and fast rule about it.

If anything, once you've picked something, just try to keep it consistent within the voice of that character. Even if it's internal dialogue, the reader will parse the spelling and tag the character who is thinking it.

Emirus said:

Stick to how you want to write it whether it’s come or cum and don’t give a toss what anyone else does or thinks how it should be. It’s no one else’s business how you want to write it. Nor if you want to change how you write it.

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In which case there's really no reason to weigh in on it on a discussion board, right?

KeithD said:

In which case there's really no reason to weigh in on it on a discussion board, right?

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Okay.