ham

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "ham"

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
A baked ham (cured thigh of hog)

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).

Cognate with Dutch ham (“ham”), dialectal German Hamme (“hind part of the knee, ham”), dialectal Swedish ham (“the hind part of the knee”), Icelandic höm (“the ham or haunch of a horse”), Old Irish cnáim (“bone”), Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “shinbone”). Compare gammon.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham (countable and uncountable, plural hams)

  2. (anatomy) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
  3. (countable) A thigh and buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat.
  4. (uncountable) Meat from the thigh of a hog cured for food.
    a little piece of ham for the cat
    • 2012, Audra Lilly Griffeth, A King's Daughter, →ISBN:
      She put some ham in the beans and cut up some sweet potatoes to boil.
  5. The back of the thigh.
  6. (Internet, informal, uncommon) Electronic mail that is wanted; mail that is not spam or junk mail.
    Synonym: ham e-mail
    Antonym: spam
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old English hām.

Noun[edit]

ham (uncountable)

  1. Obsolete form of home.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Persists in many old place names, such as Buckingham.

References[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Uncertain, though it is generally agreed upon that it first appeared in print around the 1880s. At least four theories persist:

  • It came naturally from the word amateur. Deemed likely by Hendrickson (1997), but then the question would be why it took so long to pop up. He rejects the folk etymology of Cockney slang hamateur because it originated in American English.[1]
  • From the play Hamlet, where the title character was often played poorly and/or in an exaggerated manner. Also deemed likely by Hendrickson, though he raises the issue that the term would have likely been around earlier if this were case.
  • From the minstrel's practice of using ham fat to remove heavy black makeup used during performances.[2]
  • Shortened from hamfatter (“inferior actor”), said to derive from the 1863 minstrel show song The Ham-fat Man.[3] William and Mary Morris (1988) argue that it's not known whether the song inspired the term or the term inspired the song, but that they believe the latter is the case.

Noun[edit]

ham (plural hams)

  1. (acting) An overacting or amateurish performer; an actor with an especially showy or exaggerated style.
    Synonyms: hambone, hamfatter, overactor, tear-cat
    • 2023 June 13, Dwight Garner, quoting James Wood, “Cormac McCarthy, Novelist of a Darker America, Is Dead at 89”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN:
      Writing in The New Yorker in 2005, James Wood praised Mr. McCarthy as “a colossally gifted writer” and “one of the great hams of American prose, who delights in producing a histrionic rhetoric that brilliantly ventriloquizes the King James Bible, Shakespearean and Jacobean tragedy, Melville, Conrad, and Faulkner.”
  2. (radio) An amateur radio operator.
    Synonym: radio amateur
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

ham (third-person singular simple present hams, present participle hamming, simple past and past participle hammed)

  1. (acting) To overact; to act with exaggerated emotions.
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (1997) The Facts on File encyclopedia of word and phrase origins, New York: Facts on File, →ISBN
  2. ^ Morris, William (1988) Morris dictionary of word and phrase origins, New York: Harper & Row, →ISBN
  3. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch ham, from Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham (plural hamme, diminutive hammetjie)

  1. ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)

Caribbean Hindustani[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Compare Hindi हम (ham, “we”).

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. I

References[edit]

  • Beknopt Nederland-Sarnami Woordenboek met Sarnami Hindoestani-Nederlanse Woordenlijst‎[2] (in Dutch), Paramaribo: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, 2002

Catalan[edit]

Catalan Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ca

Etymology[edit]

From Latin hamus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham m (plural hams)

  1. fishhook

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English ham, from Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).

Noun[edit]

ham

  1. ham; meat from the thigh of a hog cured for food

Chamorro[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami. Cognates include Indonesian kami and Tagalog kami.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. we, us (exclusive)

Usage notes[edit]

See also[edit]

Chamorro personal pronouns
hu-type pronouns
singular plural inclusive plural exclusive
1st person hu ta in
2nd person un en
3rd person ha ma
yoʼ-type pronouns
singular plural inclusive plural exclusive
1st person yoʼ hit ham
2nd person hao hamyo
3rd person gueʼ siha
emphatic pronouns
singular plural inclusive plural exclusive
1st person guahu hita hami
2nd person hagu hamyo
3rd person guiya siha

References[edit]

  • Donald M. Topping (1973) Chamorro Reference Grammar‎[3], Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Chinese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

ham

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, slang, euphemistic) to die

Synonyms[edit]

Dialectal synonyms of 死 (“to die”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 死, 亡, 歿, 卒
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 死, 死亡, 亡故, 喪生, 喪命, 去世 †, 過世 †, 逝世 †, 離世 †, 下世 †, 不在 †, 過去 †, 仙逝 †, 歸天 †, 歸西 †, 升天 †, 作古 †, 長眠 †, 閉眼 †, 故去 †, ‡, 故世 †, ‡, 一命嗚呼
Mandarin Beijing 死, 故去 †, 老 †, ‡, 踹腿 ¤, 踹腿兒 ¤, 踹 ¤, 回姥姥家 ¤, 毛兒提 Hui
Taiwan 死, 過世 †
Harbin 死, 老 †, ‡, 伸腿兒 ¤, 伸腿 ¤, 蹬腿兒 ¤, 奔兒咕 ¤, 桿兒屁 §, 桿兒細 §, 吹燈拔蠟
Yantai (Muping) 死, 老 †, ‡, 上西天 §
Jinan 死, 歿, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 不在 †, ‡, 王八 §, 完蛋, 完錢, 完活, 無常 Hui, 歸主 Hui, 歸真 Hui
Luoyang 死, 過去, 過世, 下世, 亡故, 不在, 升天, 去世 †, 老 †, ‡, 擱那兒 ¤
Wanrong 死, 歿, 老 †, ‡
Xi'an 死, 不在 †, 老 †, ‡, 無常 Hui
Yinchuan 死, 走 †, 歿 Hui, 歸真 Hui, 冒提 Hui, 口喚 Hui, 無常 Hui, 完 Hui
Lanzhou 死, 過世 †, 緩下 †, 躺下 †
Xining 歿
Ürümqi 死, 過世 †, 不在 †
Wuhan 死, 過身 †, 去 †, 老 †, ‡, 去回 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 瓜碼子 ¤, 瓜 ¤, 西皮
Chengdu 死, 過去 †, 不在 †, 去 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 撬桿兒 §, 撬桿 §, 翹辮子 §, 見馬克思, 歸天, 去陰國, 爬高煙囪, 落氣, 冰凊, 沒脈
Guiyang 死, 過世 †, 成神 †, ‡, 百年歸天 †, ‡, 嗚呼 ¤
Liuzhou 死, 沒得脈, 過世 †, 過身 †, 沒在 †, 哦嚄
Yangzhou 死, 不在 †, 走 †, 家去吃去 ¤, 家去 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 駝條 §
Nanjing 死, 過世 †, 歸天 †, ‡, 不在 †, 嗝兒得 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤
Hefei 死, 不在 †, 老 †
Singapore 死, 死掉, 死翹翹, 過世 †, 去世 †, 上天堂 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 †
Cantonese Guangzhou 死, 過身 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 百年歸老 †, ‡, 去別有天 †, ¤, 去大煙筒 †, ¤, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 收檔 ¤, 攞竇 ¤, 進竇 §, 瓜竇, 直, 瓜直, 死直, 攤直, 雙腳撐直, 伸直腳, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 褸席, 歸西, 歸天, 食黃泥, 入黃泥窿, 入窿, 玩完, 嫌米貴, 瞇埋眼, 一 argot
Hong Kong 死, 過身 †, 走 †, 香 †, 去 †, 唔喺度 †, 百年歸老 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 †, 兩腳一伸 †, 仙遊 †, 拜拜 †, 去閻羅王處報到 †, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 釘蓋, 釘, 直, 歸西, 玩完, ham
Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou) 過身
Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou) 過身
Hong Kong (Ting Kok) 過身, 死
Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau) 過身
Macau 過身, 去
Guangzhou (Panyu) 過身, 死
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) 死
Guangzhou (Conghua) 過身, 死
Guangzhou (Zengcheng) 去歸, 過身
Foshan 過身, 死
Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) 死, 過身
Foshan (Shunde) 過身
Foshan (Sanshui) 過身
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) 死
Zhongshan (Shiqi) 過身
Zhuhai (Qianshan) 死
Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka) 過身, 死
Zhuhai (Doumen) 死, 過身
Jiangmen (Baisha) 過身, 死
Jiangmen (Xinhui) 死, 過身
Taishan 死, 善, 去
Kaiping (Chikan) 死, 登仙
Enping (Niujiang) 過身, 死
Heshan (Yayao) 死
Dongguan 死, 老 †, 去返 †, 去舊時嗰處 †, 視埋眼 †, 伸直腳 †, 入罌 †, 拉柴 §, 去大煙筒 §
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) 死, 過身
Yangjiang 死, 過輩 †, 老 †, ‡, 老大 †, ‡
Singapore (Guangfu) 死, 過身 †
Gan Nanchang 死, 過世 †, 老 †
Lichuan 死
Pingxiang 死, 過 †, 走路 †, 老 †, ‡, 去
Hakka Meixian 死, 老, 過身 †, 消 †, 老壽 †, ‡
Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua) 過身, 香 †
Dongguan (Qingxi) 過身, 死
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) 死, 過身
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) 死
Conghua (Lütian) 死, 過身
Yudu 死, 過世 †, 過套 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †, 轉該背 †, 歸仙 †, 轉老外婆裡 ¤
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 死, 過身 †
Hong Kong 過身, 老
Huizhou Jixi 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過身 †, 不在 †, 過老 §, 過邊 §, 進棺材 §, 進風水 §, 翹扁 §, ¤
Jin Taiyuan 死, 沒啦 †, 走 †, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 老客 †, ‡
Xinzhou 死, 回老家 †, 硬 §, 㞗朝天 of a man, vulgar, 倒蕎麥皮
Northern Min Jian'ou 死, 過身 †, 老 †, ‡
Eastern Min Fuzhou 死, 過去 †, 過世 †, 過後 †, 歸西 †, 百歲 †, 老去 †, ‡, 堯街去 ¤, 堯生去 ¤, 溜翹 ¤, 殂 ¤, 去算米數 ¤, 去外媽食齋 ¤, 去外媽 ¤, 去䁐廬山 ¤, 去厝去 ¤, 睏長暝眠 ¤, 翹齋 ¤, 揭兜去 ¤, 拔直去 ¤, 上天去 ¤, 生去 ¤, 𣪟去 ¤, 䁐松柏樹 ¤, 䁐松柏 ¤, 轉祖 §
Southern Min Xiamen 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 百歲年老 †, 行去 †, 無去 †, 㾀 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 §
Quanzhou 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 無去 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 §
Zhangzhou 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 百歲年老 †, 行去 †, 無去 †, 起身 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 誆牽 §, 㾀 §, 㾀歹 §, 馬滴 §
Taipei 死去, 老 †, 過身 †
New Taipei (Sanxia) 死去, 老去 †, 往生 †, 過身 †
Kaohsiung 死去, 老去 †, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †
Yilan 死去, 老去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 過往 †
Changhua (Lukang) 死去, 老 †, 無去 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †
Taichung 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †
Tainan 死去, 老去 †, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †
Hsinchu 曲去, 去咯 †, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 †
Kinmen 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 行去 †
Penghu (Magong) 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 †
Singapore (Hokkien) 死, 馬滴, 死翹翹, 過身 †, 百年 †, 百歲 †, 過氣 †, 起車 †, 老去 †, 老咯 †, 行去 †, 蟯去 †, 吭跤翹 †, 交登記 †
Manila (Hokkien) 死, 死去, 過面 †, 過身 †
Chaozhou 死, 過身 †, 過世 †
Jieyang 過身, 吭跤翹, 吭翹
Singapore (Teochew) 死, 過身
Leizhou 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過目焗 ¤, 直筒 §, 刮薯減米 §
Haikou 死, 過層 †, ‡, 老 †, ‡, 貓使 §
Singapore (Hainanese) 死
Zhongshan Min Shaxi (Longdu) 死
Southern Pinghua Nanning (Tingzi) 死, 瓜老襯, 過世, 歸西
Wu Shanghai 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 一腳去 †, 翹辮子 §, ¤, 彈老三 §, 翹老三 §
Shanghai (Chongming) 死, 老 †, 故 †, 翹辮子 ¤
Suzhou 死, 壞, 去, 過世 †, 翹辮子 §
Danyang 死
Hangzhou 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 翹辮兒 ¤, 到龍駒塢去
Ningbo 死, 翹辮子 §, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 死脫 §, 燂茶, 山裡去, 吃豆腐羹, 嘸沒來的 †, 老 †
Wenzhou 死, 冇 †, 過輩 †, ‡, 蹻 ¤
Jinhua 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 弗在 †, 老 †, ‡
Xiang Changsha 死, 過 †, 去 †, 瓜, 彈, 彈四郎
Loudi 死, 過世 †, 故 †, 上岸 †
Shuangfeng 死, 過世 †, 故 †
Note † - euphemistic; ‡ - usually of the elderly; ¤ - humorous; § - derogatory/disrespectful

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse hamr, Proto-Germanic *hamaz, *hamô.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈhɑmˀ/, [ˈhɑ̈mˀ]

Noun[edit]

ham c (singular definite hammen, plural indefinite hamme)

  1. slough, skin
Declension[edit]
Declension of ham
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative ham hammen hamme hammene
genitive hams hammens hammes hammenes
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Older hannem, from Old Norse hǫnum, the dative of hann (“he”). Compare Swedish honom.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. (personal) him: objective of han
See also[edit]
Danish personal pronouns
Number Person Type Nominative Oblique Possessive
common neuter plural
Singular First – jeg mig min mit mine
Second modern / informal du dig din dit dine
formal De Dem Deres
Third masculine (person) han ham hans
feminine (person) hun hende hendes
common(noun) den dens
neuter(noun) det dets
reflexive – sig sin sit sine
Plural First modern vi os vores
archaic / formal vor vort vore
Second – I jer jeres
Third – de dem deres
reflexive – sig

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch *hama, from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham f (plural hammen, diminutive hammetje n)

  1. ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • → Papiamentu: ham

Fiji Hindi[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Hindi हम (ham, “we, I”).

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. I (1st person singular personal pronoun)
    Ham khelegaa!
    I will play!

Fyer[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

Noun[edit]

ham

  1. water

References[edit]

  • Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
  • Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
    […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
    (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Ron *ham [GT]: Fyer & Bks. & DB & Sha ham, Klr. ˀaàm […]
  • Václav Blažek, A Lexicostatistical comparison of Omotic languages, in In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the four fields of anthropology, page 122

Galician[edit]

Verb[edit]

ham

  1. (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of haver

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

A pronunciation spelling of haben.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

ham

  1. (colloquial) Contraction of haben
    Wir ham grad gefrühstückt. ― We've just had breakfast.

Usage notes[edit]

Usually used in the present or to form the perfect, though it may be seen in the infinitive as well. See also the note at haben.

Irish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham m

  1. h-prothesized form of am

Laz[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. Latin spelling of ჰამ (ham)

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Old English ham, hamm (“enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *hamm, from Proto-Germanic *hammaz.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham (plural hammes)

  1. An enclosed pasture.

References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham (plural hames)

  1. Alternative form of hamme (“back of the knee”)

Etymology 3[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. Alternative form of hem (“them”)

Etymology 4[edit]

From Old English heom

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of him (“him”)
    • c1225, Þe Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Iuliene, ed. S. T. R. O. d'Ardenne, pp. 3-71.
      [Juliana] custe ham coss os peis [Roy: acos of pes] alle as ha stoden.

Etymology 5[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham (plural hamen or hames)

  1. (Early Middle English, Northern) Alternative form of hom (“home”)

Middle French[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham m (plural hams)

  1. village

Montol[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Related to Mwaghavul am (“water”).

Noun[edit]

hàm

  1. water

References[edit]

  • Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
    […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
    (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Tal hàm [Jng./JI], Mnt. hàm "Wasser" [Jng. 1965, 171], […]

North Frisian[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. him third-person singular, masculine, objective
  2. it third-person singular, neuter, objective

Alternative forms[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse hann.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. him

See also[edit]

    Personal pronouns in Bokmål
Number Person Type Nominative Oblique Possessive
feminine masculine neuter plural
Singular First – jeg meg mi min mitt mine
Second general du deg di din ditt dine
formal (rare) De Dem Deres
Third feminine (person) hun henne hennes
masculine (person) han ham / han hans
feminine (noun) den dens
masculine (noun)
neuter (noun) det dets
reflexive – seg si sin sitt sine
Plural First – vi oss vår vårt våre
Second general dere deres
formal (very rare) De Dem Deres
Third general de dem deres
reflexive – seg si sin sitt sine

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Norse hamr.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham m (definite singular hammen, indefinite plural hammer, definite plural hammene)

  1. skin or slough (discarded skin of certain animals)
Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse hamr.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham m (definite singular hamen, indefinite plural hamar, definite plural hamane)

  1. skin or slough (discarded skin of certain animals)

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

Old English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *haim, from Proto-Germanic *haimaz.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

hām m

  1. home
    • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Assumption of St. John the Apostle"
      Ða het se apostol ða bære settan, and cwæð, "Min Drihten, Hælend Crist! Arære ðe, Drusiana; aris, and ġecyrr hām, and gearca ús gereordunge on þinum hūse." Drusiana þa arás swilce of slæpe awreht, and, carfull be ðæs apostoles hæse, hām gewende.
      Then the apostle bade them set down the bier, and said, "My Lord, Jesus Christ! Raise thee, Drusiana; arise, and return home, and prepare refection for us in thy house." Drusiana then arose as if from sleep awakened, and, mindful of the apostle's command, returned home.
  2. property, estate, farm
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"
      ...and forġeaf sumne hām tō þǣre hālgan stōwe...
      ...and gave certain property to the holy place...
  3. village; community
Usage notes[edit]
  • In early Old English, the dative singular was always hām, not the expected form hāme.
Declension[edit]
Declension of ham (strong a-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative hām hāmas
accusative hām hāmas
genitive hāmes hāma
dative hām, hāme hāmum
Derived terms[edit]

Adverb[edit]

hām

  1. home, homeward
    hām gān ― to go home
    hām cuman ― to come home
    hām ċierran ― to turn home
    hām bringan ― to bring home

Descendants[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *hammaz. Cognate with Old Frisian ham, Middle Low German hamme (Low Low German Hamm).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham m

  1. Alternative form of hamm (“enclosure”)

Etymology 3[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *hammō.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham f

  1. Alternative form of hamm (“inner knee”)

Etymology 4[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *ham, from Proto-Germanic *hamaz (“covering”). Cognate with Old Norse hamr.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham m

  1. covering
  2. garment, dress, gown; shirt
Declension[edit]
Declension of ham (strong a-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative ham hamas
accusative ham hamas
genitive hames hama
dative hame hamum
Related terms[edit]

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Frankish *haim (“home, village”).

Noun[edit]

ham oblique singular, m (oblique plural hans, nominative singular hans, nominative plural ham)

  1. village

Descendants[edit]

Old Frisian[edit]

Ēn hām.

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *haim. Cognates include Old English hām and Old Saxon hēm.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

hām m

  1. home

Descendants[edit]

  • North Frisian: hamm
  • Saterland Frisian: Heem
  • West Frisian: hiem

References[edit]

  • Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 28

Old Norse[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham

  1. accusative/dative singular of hamr

Rohingya[edit]

Noun[edit]

ham

  1. work

Derived terms[edit]

Romanian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Hungarian hám.

Noun[edit]

ham n (plural hamuri)

  1. harness
Declension[edit]
Declension of ham
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) ham hamul (niște) hamuri hamurile
genitive/dative (unui) ham hamului (unor) hamuri hamurilor
vocative hamule hamurilor
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection[edit]

ham!

  1. woof, the sound a barking dog makes

See also[edit]

Ron[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

Noun[edit]

ham

  1. (most dialects, including Mangar, Bokkos, Daffo-Butura, Shagawu) water

Synonyms[edit]

References[edit]

  • Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
  • Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
    […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
    (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Ron *ham [GT]: Fyer & Bks. & DB & Sha ham, Klr. ˀaàm […]

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

A loan from Hungarian hám.

Noun[edit]

hȃm m (Cyrillic spelling ха̑м)

  1. harness

Sha[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

Noun[edit]

ham

  1. water

References[edit]

Tal[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Related to Mwaghavul am (“water”).

Noun[edit]

hàm

  1. water

References[edit]

  • Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
    […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
    (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Tal hàm [Jng./JI], Mnt. hàm "Wasser" [Jng. 1965, 171], […]

Tambas[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

Noun[edit]

ham

  1. water

References[edit]

Turkish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Persian خام (xâm).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

ham

  1. raw

Vietnamese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Related to tham? The shift of aspirated stops to /h/ is attested, but only in certain very frequently used words, which I don't think "to be greedy" can be considered one of.”

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

ham • (𫺧, 𫻎)

  1. greedy
    ham chơi
    (disapproving) to be obsessed with fooling around
  2. eager; keen

Derived terms[edit]

Derived terms

See also[edit]

West Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hammō. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun[edit]

ham c (plural hammen, diminutive hamke)

  1. ham

Further reading[edit]

  • “ham (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Yola[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

ham

  1. Alternative form of him
    • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
      Ich drowe ham.
      I throw him.

References[edit]

  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 36
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