It's actually Latin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:

It's actually Latin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cum http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=cum1 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:19... In this case, it's best translated as "and". It mostly survives today as the "com-" prefix, like in "combination", but also as an award of particular academic merit "cum laude". http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=com-&allowed_in_frame=0 http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=com-&allowed_in_frame=0