Etymology A variant of gaum, from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaumr, from Proto-Germanic *gaumō; compare Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌿𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaumjan, “observe”), and see gaum for more. The -r- was not originally pronounced but was a device used by non-rhotic dialects of English to indicate vowel length or quality (compare Burma, Myanmar, and juggernaut).
Passing through St. George's Square, Lupus Street, Chichester Street, he scarcely saw a soul; then, quite suddenly, he struck a dense crowd, kept back by the police, standing gorming at a great jagged hole in a high blank wall, a glimpse, the merest glimpse of more broken walls, shattered chimneys.1922, Elinor Mordaunt, Laura Creichton, page 110:
"Tell Sannah to bring some coffee," said the young woman to a diminutive Kaffir boy, who stood gorming at us with round black eyes.1901, New Outlook, volume 67, page 408:
2 more examples
They would stand in silence, mindlessly gorming at each other, […]1990, Jean Ure, Play Nimrod for him, →ISBN, page 96:
In particular, we like to emphasize that, far from wasting our childhoods (not to mention adulthoods) mindlessly gorming at The Virginian and The Avengers, we spent those couch-potato years in rigorous preparation for our chosen career.2005, Lynne Truss, The Lynne Truss Treasury: Columns and Three Comic Novels, →ISBN:
The bear came up to the berries and stopped. Not accustomed to eat out of a pail, he tipped it over, and nosed about the fruit "gorming" it down, mixed with leaves and dirt, […]1885, James Johonnot, Neighbors with Claws and Hoofs, and Their Kin, page 105:
[…] an itinerant bruin and with naught on his hands but time and an appetite, [to] wander from ravine to ravine and gorm down this delectable fruit.1920, Outdoor Recreation: The Magazine that Brings the Outdoors In:
1 more example
As Luohi said later, "He gormed it. Nay, he didn't eat it. He gormed it, the pig."1980, Michael G. Karni, Finnish Americana, page 5:
gorm
verb
Etymology Supposed by some to be related to gormless and/or gorming, and by others to be related to gorm (“smear”) (itself probably related to gum (“make sticky; impair the functioning of”)).
I find the cheap shilling self-filling pen advertised in these pages excellent value—quite equal to that of fountain-pens I have paid ten times as much for. It is also durable. I am a careless person, and prefer to discard it when I have “gormed” it […]1910, English Mechanic and World of Science, volume 91, page 273:
"Truth is, I've gormed it all up, Alistair. When it comes t' women — nice women anyway — I'm as caw-handed and cork-brained as any pimply boy."2008, Christine Blevins, Midwife of the Blue Ridge, →ISBN, page 133: