Cedric Weehunt's phrase

[Espee]

On "Lum n' Abner"... slow-witted Cedric often answers Lum or Abner with "Yes mom..." or is it "Yes ma'am..." or is it "Yes marm..."?
None make sense. Is there an archaic word involved here?

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's just like it sounds, "yes mum" or "yes'm." That's a very old vestige of rural Southern/hill country dialect as a general expression of subservience by a speaker of lower class to one of higher class. Similar uses can be found in old rural dialects in England, which were the direct source of the usage in the American South.

Poor Cedric wasn't always slow-witted -- supposedly he got that way when he was kicked in the head by a horse when he was "a little kid of a boy."

 

[Espee]

Okay... so, about the same as when I've heard black (or blackface) characters answer with "Yazz'm..."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Exactly the same root.