spam

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See also: Spam and SPAM

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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)

sense 4
  1. (uncountable, rarely countable, computing, Internet) Unsolicited bulk electronic messages.
    Synonym: junk mail
    Antonym: ham
    • 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.
  2. (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.
  3. (slang, Internet) Ellipsis of spam account.
  5. A type of tinned meat made mainly from ham.

Hyponyms[edit]

Hyponyms of spam

Meronyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

undesired electronic content
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb[edit]

spam (third-person singular simple present spams, present participle spamming, simple past and past participle spammed)

  1. (intransitive, computing, Internet) To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages.)
  2. (transitive, computing, Internet) To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages) to a person or entity.
  3. (transitive, intransitive, computing, Internet) To post the same text repeatedly with disruptive effect; to flood.
  4. (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]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “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]

Borrowed from English spam.

Noun[edit]

spam (genitive spams)

  1. (computing, Internet) Spam.

Etymology 2[edit]

See spamme.

Verb[edit]

spam

  1. imperative of spamme

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from English spam.

Noun[edit]

spam m (uncountable)

  1. spam (undesired electronic content)

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb[edit]

spam

  1. first-person singular present indicative of spammen
  2. imperative of spammen

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

spam m (plural spams)

  1. spam (meat)
  2. (computing, Internet) spam

Synonyms[edit]

Hungarian[edit]

Hungarian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia hu

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

spam (plural spamek)

  1. (computing, Internet) spam

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)

  1. (computing, Internet) spam

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English spam.

Noun[edit]

spam m (invariable)

  1. (Internet) spam

Related terms[edit]

Polish[edit]

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

spam m inan

  1. (computing, Internet) spam (unsolicited bulk electronic messages)

Declension[edit]

Declension of spam
singular
nominative spam
genitive spamu
dative spamowi
accusative spam
instrumental spamem
locative spamie
vocative spamie

Derived terms[edit]

verb

Related terms[edit]

noun

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)

  1. (computing, Internet) spam

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

spam n (plural spamuri)

  1. (computing, Internet) spam

Declension[edit]

Declension of spam
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]

Borrowed from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

spȃm m inan

  1. (Internet) spam (unwanted messages)

Alternative forms[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈspam/ [ˈspãm], /esˈpam/ [esˈpãm]
  • Rhymes: -am
  • Syllabification: spam

Noun[edit]

spam m (plural spams)

  1. (computing) spam

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]

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English spam. Earliest attested in 1997.

Noun[edit]

spam n

  1. spam (unsolicited electronic messages)
    Synonym: skräppost

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]

Borrowed from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [spam]
  • Hyphenation: spam

Noun[edit]

spam (definite accusative spamı, plural spamlar)

  1. (computing, Internet) spam

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
Possessive forms
Nominative
Singular Plural
1st singular spamım spamlarım
2nd singular spamın spamların
3rd singular spamı spamları
1st plural spamımız spamlarımız
2nd plural spamınız spamlarınız
3rd plural spamları spamları
Definite accusative
Singular Plural
1st singular spamımı spamlarımı
2nd singular spamını spamlarını
3rd singular spamını spamlarını
1st plural spamımızı spamlarımızı
2nd plural spamınızı spamlarınızı
3rd plural spamlarını spamlarını
Dative
Singular Plural
1st singular spamıma spamlarıma
2nd singular spamına spamlarına
3rd singular spamına spamlarına
1st plural spamımıza spamlarımıza
2nd plural spamınıza spamlarınıza
3rd plural spamlarına spamlarına
Locative
Singular Plural
1st singular spamımda spamlarımda
2nd singular spamında spamlarında
3rd singular spamında spamlarında
1st plural spamımızda spamlarımızda
2nd plural spamınızda spamlarınızda
3rd plural spamlarında spamlarında
Ablative
Singular Plural
1st singular spamımdan spamlarımdan
2nd singular spamından spamlarından
3rd singular spamından spamlarından
1st plural spamımızdan spamlarımızdan
2nd plural spamınızdan spamlarınızdan
3rd plural spamlarından spamlarından
Genitive
Singular Plural
1st singular spamımın spamlarımın
2nd singular spamının spamlarının
3rd singular spamının spamlarının
1st plural spamımızın spamlarımızın
2nd plural spamınızın spamlarınızın
3rd plural spamlarının spamlarının

Synonyms[edit]

Vietnamese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English spam.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

spam

  1. (computing, Internet) spam
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