spam
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
The original sense (canned ham) is a proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 1937. It is presumed to be a conflation of either "spiced ham" or "shoulder of pork and ham"[1] but was soon extended to other kinds of canned meat. Hormel spells the trademarked name in all upper case.
The use for unsolicited and unwanted email derives from a Monty Python sketch (Flying Circus, Episode 25). In the 1970 sketch, a group of Vikings in a restaurant repeatedly chant the word "spam". The earliest recorded real-life use for this sense occurs around 1993 which finds reference in an email dated March 31, 1993.
The term appears to have been used earlier in a different sense in relation to "Multi-User Dungeons" (MUDs), a kind of multi-user computer gaming environment before widespread use of the Internet, in the 1980s.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam (countable and uncountable, plural spams)

- (uncountable, rarely countable, computing, Internet) Unsolicited bulk electronic messages.
- 2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist[2], volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
- In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. If the bumf arrived electronically, the take-up rate was 0.1%. And for online adverts the “conversion” into sales was a minuscule 0.01%. That means about $165 billion was spent not on drumming up business, but on annoying people, creating landfill and cluttering spam filters.
- I get far too much spam.
- I received 58 spams yesterday.
- (uncountable, computing, Internet) Any undesired electronic content automatically generated for commercial purposes.
- Long title, Spam Control Act (Cap. 311A, R. Ed. 2008)
- An Act to provide for the control of spam, which is unsolicited commercial communications sent in bulk by electronic mail or by text or multi-media messaging to mobile telephone numbers, and to provide for matters connected therewith.
- Long title, Spam Control Act (Cap. 311A, R. Ed. 2008)
- (slang, Internet) Ellipsis of spam account.
- A type of tinned meat made mainly from ham.
Hyponyms[edit]
Meronyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Verb[edit]
spam (third-person singular simple present spams, present participle spamming, simple past and past participle spammed)
- (intransitive, computing, Internet) To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages.)
- (transitive, computing, Internet) To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages) to a person or entity.
- (transitive, intransitive, computing, Internet) To post the same text repeatedly with disruptive effect; to flood.
- (transitive, by extension, computing, video games) To do something rapidly and repeatedly.
- Stop spamming that special attack!
- Spam this button to get a speed boost.
Translations[edit]
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ “What does the SPAM brand name mean?”, in (please provide the title of the work)[1], accessed 6 July 2013, archived from the original on 2013-10-14
Anagrams[edit]
Danish[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam (genitive spams)
Etymology 2[edit]
See spamme.
Verb[edit]
spam
- imperative of spamme
Dutch[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam m (uncountable)
- spam (undesired electronic content)
Etymology 2[edit]
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb[edit]
spam
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam m (plural spams)
Synonyms[edit]
- (unsolicited email): pourriel, courriel indésirable
Hungarian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam (plural spamek)
Declension[edit]
Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | spam | spamek |
accusative | spamet | spameket |
dative | spamnek | spameknek |
instrumental | spammel | spamekkel |
causal-final | spamért | spamekért |
translative | spammé | spamekké |
terminative | spamig | spamekig |
essive-formal | spamként | spamekként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | spamben | spamekben |
superessive | spamen | spameken |
adessive | spamnél | spameknél |
illative | spambe | spamekbe |
sublative | spamre | spamekre |
allative | spamhez | spamekhez |
elative | spamből | spamekből |
delative | spamről | spamekről |
ablative | spamtől | spamektől |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
spamé | spameké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
spaméi | spamekéi |
Possessive forms of spam | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | spamem | spameim |
2nd person sing. | spamed | spameid |
3rd person sing. | spame | spamei |
1st person plural | spamünk | spameink |
2nd person plural | spametek | spameitek |
3rd person plural | spamük | spameik |
Interlingua[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam (plural spams)
Italian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Unadapted borrowing from English spam.
Noun[edit]
spam m (invariable)
Related terms[edit]
Polish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam m inan
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- spam in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- spam in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Unadapted borrowing from English spam.
Noun[edit]
spam m (uncountable)
Romanian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam n (plural spamuri)
Declension[edit]
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) spam | spamul | (niște) spamuri | spamurile |
genitive/dative | (unui) spam | spamului | (unor) spamuri | spamurilor |
vocative | spamule | spamurilor |
Slovene[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spȃm m inan
Alternative forms[edit]
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Unadapted borrowing from English spam.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam m (plural spams)
Usage notes[edit]
According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.
Further reading[edit]
- “spam”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from English spam. Earliest attested in 1997.
Noun[edit]
spam n
Declension[edit]
Declension of spam | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | spam | spammet | spam | spammen |
Genitive | spams | spammets | spams | spammens |
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
Turkish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
spam (definite accusative spamı, plural spamlar)
Usage notes[edit]
As the word starts with two consonants, some Turkish people will have difficulties to spell it correctly. It may be spelled also sıpam.
Declension[edit]
Inflection | ||
---|---|---|
Nominative | spam | |
Definite accusative | spamı | |
Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | spam | spamlar |
Definite accusative | spamı | spamları |
Dative | spama | spamlara |
Locative | spamda | spamlarda |
Ablative | spamdan | spamlardan |
Genitive | spamın | spamların |
Synonyms[edit]
Vietnamese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [spam˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [spam˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [spam˧˧]
- Phonetic: xpăm
Noun[edit]
spam
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æm
- Rhymes:English/æm/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Computing
- en:Internet
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English slang
- English ellipses
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Video games
- English genericized trademarks
- en:Advertising
- en:E-mail
- Danish terms borrowed from English
- Danish terms derived from English
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- da:Computing
- da:Internet
- Danish non-lemma forms
- Danish verb forms
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch terms borrowed from English
- Dutch terms derived from English
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch uncountable nouns
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch verb forms
- French terms borrowed from English
- French terms derived from English
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:Computing
- fr:Internet
- fr:E-mail
- fr:Meats
- Hungarian terms borrowed from English
- Hungarian terms derived from English
- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hungarian terms with manual IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ɛm
- Rhymes:Hungarian/ɛm/1 syllable
- Hungarian lemmas
- Hungarian nouns
- hu:Computing
- hu:Internet
- Interlingua lemmas
- Interlingua nouns
- ia:Computing
- ia:Internet
- Italian terms borrowed from English
- Italian unadapted borrowings from English
- Italian terms derived from English
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Italian indeclinable nouns
- Italian countable nouns
- Italian masculine nouns
- it:Internet
- Polish terms borrowed from English
- Polish terms derived from English
- Polish 1-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/am
- Rhymes:Polish/am/1 syllable
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- pl:Computing
- pl:Internet
- Polish singularia tantum
- pl:E-mail
- pl:Advertising
- pl:Video games
- Portuguese terms borrowed from English
- Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English
- Portuguese terms derived from English
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese uncountable nouns
- Portuguese masculine nouns
- pt:Computing
- pt:Internet
- Romanian terms borrowed from English
- Romanian terms derived from English
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Romanian/am
- Rhymes:Romanian/am/1 syllable
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- ro:Computing
- ro:Internet
- Slovene terms borrowed from English
- Slovene terms derived from English
- Slovene 1-syllable words
- Slovene terms with IPA pronunciation
- Slovene lemmas
- Slovene nouns
- Slovene masculine inanimate nouns
- Slovene masculine nouns
- Slovene inanimate nouns
- sl:Internet
- Spanish terms borrowed from English
- Spanish unadapted borrowings from English
- Spanish terms derived from English
- Spanish 1-syllable words
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/am
- Rhymes:Spanish/am/1 syllable
- Rhymes:Spanish/am/2 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- es:Computing
- Swedish terms borrowed from English
- Swedish terms derived from English
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish neuter nouns
- sv:Computing
- Turkish terms borrowed from English
- Turkish terms derived from English
- Turkish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish nouns
- tr:Computing
- tr:Internet
- Vietnamese terms borrowed from English
- Vietnamese terms derived from English
- Vietnamese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Vietnamese lemmas
- Vietnamese nouns
- vi:Computing
- vi:Internet