An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/säumen
säumen, vb., ‘to linger,’ from MidHG. sûmen, ‘to stay, defer, loiter, linger’; OHG. only virsûmen (MidHG. versûmen), ‘to let slip,’ and ar-sûmen, ‘to omit.’ The history of the word is very obscure, because it is peculiar to G., and appears only in a compound form in OHG. The great antiquity of the compound is attested by MidHG. frá-sûme, m., ‘delay,’ which points to Goth. *frá-sûma, m.; we should have expected MidHG. versûme. Probably the meaning, which properly belongs only to the compound, has been transferred to the simple form. —