An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/kaum

by Friedrich Kluge

kaum, adverb, ‘scarcely,’ from Middle High German kûme, as adjective (?), ‘thin, weak, infirm,’ as adverb (Old High German chûmo), ‘with difficulty, hardly, scarcely, not’; to this is allied Old High German chûmig, ‘powerless, toilsome.’ ‘Feeble’ is the primary meaning of the adjective and adverb, as is shown by Lower Hessian küme, Middle Low German küme, Swiss chum, and Middle English kîme, ‘feeble.’ The corresponding Anglo-Saxon cŷme signifies ‘tender, fine, beautiful’ (compare klein), Teutonic kûmi-, ‘feeble,’ is not found in the other languages.