tamen

See also: tamén and tāmen

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tamen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtamen/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -amen
• Hyphenation: ta‧men

Adverb

tamen

1. however, nevertheless

   Mi devis rezigni miajn dezirojn kaj celojn, sed nun mi tamen estas kontenta.

   I had to resign my aspirations and objectives, but now I am nevertheless content.

Particle

tamen

1. (in response to a negative question or statement) yes; indeed

   Synonym: jes ja

   "Vi ne scipovas stiri biciklon." — "Tamen!"

   "You don't know how to ride a bicycle." — "Yes I do!"

   "Ĉu vi ne venas al la festo?" — "Tamen!"

   "Are you not coming to the party?" — "Indeed I am!"

Ido

Etymology

From Esperanto, from Latin tamen.

Adverb

tamen

1. however, nevertheless

Japanese

Romanization

tamen

1. Rōmaji transcription of ためん

Latin

Etymology

From tam +‎ -em. Last particle in īdem. Compare with its later doublet: tandem, both with original meaning supposedly "so(much)ever".

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈta.men/, [ˈt̪ämɛn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈta.men/, [ˈt̪äːmen]
• Note: unlike in tametsī, the graphic m does represent the bilabial nasal /m/.

Adverb

tamen (not comparable)

1. (usually postpositive, also initial and final) however, in spite of this
   1. (preceded by et, atque/ac, neque/nec, at, sed, vērum)

      ac tamen... ― and yet...

      • 106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Atticus 13:

        ex duobus librīs contulī in quattuor: grandiōrēs sunt omnīnō quam erant illī, sed tamen multa dētracta

        from two books, I have [in their place] arranged four: they are ampler, in every way, than what used to be [contained] in that [previous arrangement of two books], and yet [all that being said], I have also removed many things

        (literally, “from two books, I have [in their place] arranged four: they are ampler, in every way, than what used to be [contained] in that [previous arrangement of two books], and yet [all that being said], I have also pulled out many things”)

2. (expressing a concession) nevertheless, yet, still
   • 166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 864:

     Simo: Nihil audiō! Ego iam tē commōtum reddam! Davus: Tamen etsī hoc vērum·st? Simo: Tamen!

     Simo: I'm not listening! Your heart strings are about to get a real good tugging! Davus: Even if it's true? Simo: Even so!

     (literally, “...I'm about to make you greatly moved...”)

3. all the same, just the same (in spite of appearances of the contrary)
   • c. 191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus 405:

     […] vīginti minās, quae nūsquam nunc sunt gentium, inveniam tamen.

     […] those twenty minas, which are currently nowhere to be found, I'll find them all the same.

4. (in an aside) although, even if
5. (in a limiting clause) (also with ut or ne) at least

Synonyms

• (nevertheless, yet): etsi, quamquam, at, sed, ast

Derived terms

• tamendem
• attamen
• tamen etsī
• vērumtamen

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Descendants

• Sardinian: tàmen, tàmes
• → Esperanto: tamen
• → Ido: tamen
• → Interlingua: tamen

References

• “tamen” on page 2098 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page ???

Further reading

• “tamen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tamen”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• tamen in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Etymology 1

From tame (“tame”) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Verb

tamen (third-person singular simple present tameth, present participle tamende, tamynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle tamed)

1. to tame, domesticate
2. to subdue, overcome

Descendants

• English: tame
• Scots: tame

References

• “tāmen, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Shortening of attamen (“to cut, pierce”) or entamen (“to injure”), both from Old French.

Verb

tamen (third-person singular simple present tameth, present participle tamende, tamynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle tamed)

1. to cut into, carve
2. to broach (a keg, bottle; a subject)

Alternative forms

• tame

Descendants

• English: tame
• Scots: tame

References

• “tāmen, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Tumleo

Noun

tamen

1. woman

References

• Stephen Adolphe Wurm, New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study (1976)