item

English

Etymology

The word started as Latin item for "also", "in the same manner", and got its present English meaning by people misunderstanding usage in lists where the first entry began "Imprimis" (Latin for "firstly"), and the other entries each started "Item" (Latin for "also"), in former times when most learned people in England knew Latin.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

item (plural items)

1. A distinct physical object.

   Tweezers are great for manipulating small items.

2. A line of text having a legal or other meaning; a separate particular in an account.

   the items in a bill

   In response to the first item, we deny all wrongdoing.

3. (psychometrics) A question on a test, which may include its answers.

   The exam has 100 items, each of which includes a correct response and three distractors.

4. A matter for discussion in an agenda.

   The first item for discussion is the budget for next year's picnic.

5. (informal) Two people who are having a relationship with each other.

   Jack and Jill are an item.

   • 2010, Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris, Baby

     Are we an item? Girl, quit playin'

     "We're just friends," what are you sayin'?

6. A short article in a newspaper.

   an item concerning the weather

7. (obsolete) A hint; an innuendo.
   • Fuller

     A secret item was given to some of the bishops […] to absent themselves.

Synonyms

• (object): article, object, thing
• (line of text having a legal or semantic meaning):
• (matter for discussion): subject, topic
• (two people who are having a relationship with each other): couple
• (psychometrics): test/assessment question

Derived terms

• subitem
• itemize
• polarity item
• negative polarity item
• positive polarity item

Translations

distinct physical object

• Arabic: بند m (band)
• Armenian: միավոր (miavor), միույթ (miuytʿ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 項目 (zh), 项目 (zh) (xiàngmù)

• Czech: předmět (cs)
• Danish: stykke n
• Dutch: exemplaar (nl) n, artikel (nl) n, stuk (nl) n, object (nl) n
• Estonian: ese
• Finnish: esine (fi)
• French: truc (fr) m, article (fr) m

• German: Stück (de) n, Artikel (de) m, Element (de) n, Ding (de) n
• Hebrew: אבזר (he)
• Italian: articolo (it) m, elemento (it) m
• Japanese: 項目 (ja) (こうもく, kōmoku)
• Portuguese: item (pt) m
• Romanian: articol (ro) n, exemplar (ro) n, bucată (ro) f
• Russian: предмет (ru) m (predmét), штука (ru) f (štúka), вещь (ru) f (vešč')
• Slovene: predmet (sl) m
• Spanish: ítem (es)
• Swahili: kifaa (sw)

line of text

• Armenian: հոդված (hodvac)
• Czech: položka

• Danish: punkt (da) n
• Finnish: kohta (fi)

matter for discussion in an agenda

• Czech: bod (cs) m
• Danish: punkt (da) n
• Dutch: agendapunt (nl) n
• Finnish: kohta (fi), asiakohta

• French: point (fr) m
• Portuguese: item (pt) m
• Romanian: punct de agendă n
• Slovene: zadeva f
• Swedish: punkt u

informal: two people who are having a relationship with each other

• Dutch: koppeltje (nl) n

• Finnish: juttu (fi)

test assessment question

• Finnish: kohta (fi)

Anagrams

• emit, mite, time

---

French

Etymology

Latin.

Adverb

item

1. same; in the same way

---

Italian

Etymology

Latin.

Adverb

item

1. (law) in the same way.

Noun

item m (invariable)

1. (computer science) A single programmed unit.
2. (linguistics) An element of a grammatical or lexical set.

---

Latin

Adverb

item

1. likewise, also

---

Middle French

Etymology

Latin.

Adverb

item

1. same; in the same way

---

Old French

Etymology

Latin.

Adverb

item

1. same; in the same way

---

Portuguese

Noun

item m (plural itens)

1. item
2. A matter for discussion in an agenda or elsewhere.

   O primeiro item a considerar é o orçamento para o próximo piquenique.

3. A line of text with some meaning.

   Consideremos um item de cada vez.