-cum-
This is a prepositional phrase from Latin which means “with.” So “X-cum-Y” means “X with Y.”
Incidentally, this is where the degree honors come from:
- cum laude: “with praise”
- magna cum laude: “with great praise”
- summa cum laude: “with highest praise”
Why I Looked It Up
I had seen the phrase/qualifier many times. Recently, I was reading a novel where a character reflected on her purchase of a “radio-cum-record player.”
Update
Added on
I found this The First Man in Rome:
In fact, Marius had displayed his usual genius in sending Sulla rather than Manius Aquillius, who might also have proven his worth as a watchdog-cum-guardian…
I feel like the conjunction “and” is implied there, more than “with.”