An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/kaum

by Friedrich Kluge

kaum, adv., ‘scarcely,’ from MidHG. kûme, as adj. (?), ‘thin, weak, infirm,’ as adv. (OHG. chûmo), ‘with difficulty, hardly, scarcely, not’; to this is allied OHG. chûmig, ‘powerless, toilsome.’ ‘Feeble’ is the prim. meaning of the adj. and adv., as is shown by Lower Hess. küme, MidLG. küme, Swiss chum, and MidE. kîme, ‘feeble.’ The corresponding AS. cŷme signifies ‘tender, fine, beautiful’ (comp. klein), Teut. kûmi-, ‘feeble,’ is not found in the other languages.