iam

See also i-am

Esperanto

Etymology

i- (“indeterminate correlative prefix”) + -am (“correlative suffix of time”)

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈi.am/

Adverb

iam

1. sometime, ever (indeterminate correlative of time)
2. once
   • 2000, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, La Eta Princo, translated by Pierre Delaire from the French

     Iam, kiam mi estis sesjara, mi vidis belegan bildon en iu libro pri la praarbaro, titolita "Travivitaj rakontoj".

     Once, when I was six years old, I saw a magnificent picture in some book, titled "True Stories."

Derived terms

• iam ajn (“anytime”)
• iama

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *yē (“already”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌰 (ja), 𐌾𐌰𐌹 (jai, “yes”), Old High German ja, jā (German ja, “yes”), Old English ġēa (English yea, “yea, yes”). More at yes.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /ˈjam/

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Adverb

iam (not comparable)

1. already

   Birota iam refecta est.

   The bicycle has already been repaired.

2. now
   • Curculio by Plautus, 5,3,5:

     CAPPADOX: Iam iam faciam ut iusseris.

     CAPPADOX: Here, here, I’ll do as you say!

3. anymore

Usage notes

Iam means, generally, “at some point previous” or “since some point previous”. In English, already, the most common translation, is used only to emphasize that this point might have been expected to be later, whereas now is used to emphasize that the statement was once false, even when the statement refers to a point in the past or future. Iam is used to express either. (Likewise, the most common Latin word for now, nunc, denotes only the literal present moment.) Also, where iam means now, it is often used in negative sentences, in which the most common English construction uses anymore.

Derived terms

• etiam
• iamdudum
• non iam
• iam pridem

Descendants

Catalan: ja Esperanto: jam French: jà Basque: ia

Italian: già Portuguese: já Spanish: ya