ham
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English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-West Germanic *hammu, from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).
Cognate with Dutch ham (“ham”), dialectal German Hamme (“hind part of the knee, ham”), dialectal Swedish ham (“the hind part of the knee”), Icelandic höm (“the ham or haunch of a horse”), Old Irish cnáim (“bone”), Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “shinbone”). Compare gammon and gam.
Pronunciation
- enPR: hăm, IPA(key): /ˈhæm/
- (Southern England, General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈhæːm/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (UK): (file) - Rhymes: -æm
Noun
ham (countable and uncountable, plural hams)
- (anatomy) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
- (countable) A thigh and/or buttock of a hog slaughtered for meat; (occasionally) the corresponding cut from some other animal.
- 1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 165:
- "I'll have you so your hams will stand out like horse's shanks!" de declared.
- (uncountable) Meat from the thigh and/or buttock of a hog cured for food.
- 2012, Audra Lilly Griffeth, A King's Daughter, →ISBN:
- She put some ham in the beans and cut up some sweet potatoes to boil.
- The back of the thigh of humans or certain other animals.
- (Internet, informal, uncommon) Electronic mail that is wanted; email that is not spam or junk mail.
- Synonym: ham e-mail
- Antonyms: spam, junk mail
Derived terms
- Admiralty ham
- Bayonne ham
- Black Forest ham
- burger
- butter-ham
- Christmas ham
- country ham
- deviled ham
- devilled ham
- dressmaker's ham
- Gourock ham
- ham and beef shop
- ham-and-egger
- ham and eggs
- hambeast
- hambone
- ham chin peng
- ham e-mail
- hamfat
- ham-fisted
- ham-fistedly
- ham-handed
- ham-handedly
- ham-handedness
- ham hands
- ham hock
- hamlike
- hammie
- hammy
- hamplanet
- ham salad
- ham sandwich
- ham-sandwich
- ham sandwich theorem
- hamshackle
- ham shank
- ham steak
- hamstring
- ham up
- hamwich
- Jinhua ham
- Limerick ham
- mutton ham
- Parma ham
- pressed ham
- Smithfield ham
- Spam
- Spanish ham
- stuffed ham
- tailor's ham
- Taylor ham
- turkey ham
- Westphalian ham
- York ham
Translations
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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.
Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle English ham, from Old English hām.
Noun
ham (uncountable)
- Obsolete form of home.
Usage notes
- Persists in many old place names, such as Buckingham.
Related terms
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Etymology 3
Uncertain, though it is generally agreed upon that it first appeared in print around the 1880s. At least four theories persist:
- It came naturally from the word amateur. Deemed likely by Hendrickson (1997), but then the question would be why it took so long to pop up. He rejects the folk etymology of Cockney slang hamateur because it originated in American English.[1]
- From the play Hamlet, where the title character was often played poorly and/or in an exaggerated manner. Also deemed likely by Hendrickson, though he raises the issue that the term would have likely been around earlier if this were case.
- From the minstrel's practice of using ham fat to remove heavy black makeup used during performances.[2]
- Shortened from hamfatter (“inferior actor”), said to derive from the 1863 minstrel show song The Ham-fat Man.[3] William and Mary Morris (1988) argue that it's not known whether the song inspired the term or the term inspired the song, but that they believe the latter is the case.
Noun
ham (plural hams)
- (acting) An overacting or amateurish performer; an actor with an especially showy or exaggerated style.
- 2023 June 13, Dwight Garner, quoting James Wood, “Cormac McCarthy, Novelist of a Darker America, Is Dead at 89”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
- Writing in The New Yorker in 2005, James Wood praised Mr. McCarthy as “a colossally gifted writer” and “one of the great hams of American prose, who delights in producing a histrionic rhetoric that brilliantly ventriloquizes the King James Bible, Shakespearean and Jacobean tragedy, Melville, Conrad, and Faulkner.”
- (radio) An amateur radio operator.
- Synonym: radio amateur
Derived terms
Translations
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Verb
ham (third-person singular simple present hams, present participle hamming, simple past and past participle hammed)
- (acting) To overact; to act with exaggerated emotions.
- Synonyms: ham it up, chew the scenery, melodramatize, overact, tear a cat
- Near-synonym: camp it up
Translations
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See also
See also
References
- ^ Hendrickson, Robert (1997) The Facts on File encyclopedia of word and phrase origins, New York: Facts on File, →ISBN
- ^ Morris, William (1988) Morris dictionary of word and phrase origins, New York: Harper & Row, →ISBN
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Etymology
Inherited from Dutch ham, from Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɦam/
Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: ham
Audio: (file)
Noun
ham (plural hamme, diminutive hammetjie)
- ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)
Caribbean Hindustani
Etymology
Cognate with Hindi हम (ham, “we”).
Pronoun
ham
References
- Beknopt Nederland-Sarnami Woordenboek met Sarnami Hindoestani-Nederlanse Woordenlijst[2] (in Dutch), Paramaribo: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, 2002
Catalan
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
ham m (plural hams)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “ham”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
Cebuano
Etymology
Derived from English ham, from Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).
Noun
ham
Chamorro
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami. Cognates include Indonesian kami and Tagalog kami.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hæm/
Pronoun
ham
Usage notes
- ham is used either as a subject of an intransitive verb or as an object of a transitive verb, while in is used as a subject of a transitive verb.
- I lahi ha sangani ham. ― The man told us.
- In transitive clauses with an indefinite object, ham can be used as a subject.
See also
singular | plural inclusive | plural exclusive | |
---|---|---|---|
hu-type pronouns | |||
1st person | hu | ta | in |
2nd person | un | en | |
3rd person | ha | ma | |
yoʼ-type pronouns | |||
1st person | yoʼ | hit | ham |
2nd person | hao | hamyo | |
3rd person | gueʼ | siha | |
emphatic pronouns | |||
1st person | guahu | hita | hami |
2nd person | hagu | hamyo | |
3rd person | guiya | siha |
References
- Donald M. Topping (1973) Chamorro Reference Grammar[3], Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Chinese
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: hem1
- Cantonese Pinyin: hem1
- Guangdong Romanization: hém1
- Sinological IPA (key): /hɛːm⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Verb
ham
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, slang, euphemistic) to die
- 2016 August 22, 郭富城 [Aaron Kwok], quotee, “隨時有驚喜!郭富城爆智能舞台未玩盡”, in 東網 [on.cc][4]:
- 再過26周年,好話唔好聽,可能我都『ham』咗,呢幾年好多重要嘅人或者演唱會嘅朋友離開咗,我仲可以企喺台度同大家表演,係值得嘅。 [Cantonese, trad.]
- zoi3 gwo3 26 zau1 nin4, hou2 waa6 m4 hou2 teng1, ho2 nang4 ngo5 dou1 ‘hem1’ zo2, ni1 gei2 nin4 hou2 do1 zung6 jiu3 ge3 jan4 waak6 ze2 jin2 coeng3 wui6-2 ge3 pang4 jau5 lei4 hoi1 zo2, ngo5 zung6 ho2 ji5 kei5 hai2 toi4 dou6 tung4 daai6 gaa1 biu2 jin2, hai6 zik6 dak1 ge3. [Jyutping]
- In another 26 years, frankly, I might have already kicked the bucket. In these last few years, many people important to me and friends (I met) while performing have passed away, so I think it's worth performing for everyone up here on stage while I still can.
再过26周年,好话唔好听,可能我都『ham』咗,呢几年好多重要嘅人或者演唱会嘅朋友离开咗,我仲可以企喺台度同大家表演,系值得嘅。 [Cantonese, simp.]
Synonyms
Variety | Location | Words |
---|---|---|
Classical Chinese | 死, 亡, 歿, 卒 | |
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 死, 死亡, 亡故, 喪生, 喪命, 去世 †, 過世 †, 逝世 †, 離世 †, 下世 †, 不在 †, 過去 †, 仙逝 †, 歸天 †, 歸西 †, 升天 †, 作古 †, 長眠 †, 閉眼 †, 故去 †, ‡, 故世 †, ‡, 一命嗚呼, 謝世, 離開人間 | |
Northeastern Mandarin | Beijing | 死, 撂, 撂條, 故去 †, 吹燈 †, 吹燈拔蠟 †, 吹臺 †, 老 †, ‡, 踹腿 ¤, 踹腿兒 ¤, 踹 ¤, 回姥姥家 ¤, 彎回去 †, 毛兒提 Hui |
Taiwan | 死, 過世 † | |
Harbin | 死, 老 †, ‡, 伸腿兒 ¤, 伸腿 ¤, 蹬腿兒 ¤, 奔兒咕 ¤, 桿兒屁 §, 桿兒細 §, 吹燈拔蠟 | |
Singapore | 死, 死掉, 死翹翹, 過世 †, 去世 †, 上天堂 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 † | |
Jilu Mandarin | Jinan | 死, 歿, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 不在 †, ‡, 王八 §, 完蛋, 完錢, 完活, 無常 Hui, 歸主 Hui, 歸真 Hui |
Jiaoliao Mandarin | Yantai (Muping) | 死, 老 †, ‡, 上西天 § |
Central Plains Mandarin | Luoyang | 死, 過去, 過世, 下世, 亡故, 不在, 升天, 去世 †, 老 †, ‡, 擱那兒 ¤ |
Wanrong | 死, 歿, 老 †, ‡ | |
Xi'an | 死, 不在 †, 老 †, ‡, 無常 Hui | |
Xining | 歿 | |
Lanyin Mandarin | Yinchuan | 死, 走 †, 歿 Hui, 歸真 Hui, 冒提 Hui, 口喚 Hui, 無常 Hui, 完 Hui |
Lanzhou | 死, 過世 †, 緩下 †, 躺下 † | |
Ürümqi | 死, 過世 †, 不在 † | |
Southwestern Mandarin | Chengdu | 死, 過去 †, 不在 †, 去 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 撬桿兒 §, 撬桿 §, 翹辮子 §, 見馬克思, 歸天, 去陰國, 爬高煙囪, 落氣, 冰凊, 沒脈 |
Wuhan | 死, 過身 †, 去 †, 老 †, ‡, 去回 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 瓜碼子 ¤, 瓜 ¤, 西皮 | |
Guiyang | 死, 過世 †, 成神 †, ‡, 百年歸天 †, ‡, 嗚呼 ¤ | |
Guilin | 死 | |
Liuzhou | 死, 沒得脈, 過世 †, 過身 †, 沒在 †, 哦嚄 | |
Jianghuai Mandarin | Nanjing | 死, 過世 †, 歸天 †, ‡, 不在 †, 嗝兒得 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤ |
Yangzhou | 死, 不在 †, 走 †, 家去吃去 ¤, 家去 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 駝條 § | |
Hefei | 死, 不在 †, 老 † | |
Cantonese | Guangzhou | 死, 過身 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 百年歸老 †, ‡, 去別有天 †, ¤, 去大煙筒 †, ¤, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 收檔 ¤, 攞竇 ¤, 進竇 §, 瓜竇, 直, 瓜直, 死直, 攤直, 雙腳撐直, 伸直腳, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 褸席, 歸西, 歸天, 食黃泥, 入黃泥窿, 入窿, 玩完, 嫌米貴, 瞇埋眼, 一 argot, 唔食廣東米 |
Hong Kong | 死, 過身 †, 走 †, 香 †, 去 †, 唔喺度 †, 百年歸老 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 †, 兩腳一伸 †, 仙遊 †, 拜拜 †, 去閻羅王處報到 †, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 釘蓋, 釘, 直, 歸西, 玩完, ham | |
Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou) | 過身 | |
Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou) | 過身 | |
Hong Kong (Ting Kok) | 過身, 死 | |
Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau) | 過身 | |
Macau | 過身, 去 | |
Guangzhou (Panyu) | 過身, 死 | |
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) | 死 | |
Guangzhou (Conghua) | 過身, 死 | |
Guangzhou (Zengcheng) | 去歸, 過身 | |
Foshan | 過身, 死 | |
Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) | 死, 過身 | |
Foshan (Shunde) | 過身 | |
Foshan (Sanshui) | 過身 | |
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) | 死 | |
Zhongshan (Shiqi) | 過身 | |
Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou) | 死 | |
Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka) | 過身, 死 | |
Zhuhai (Doumen) | 死, 過身 | |
Jiangmen (Baisha) | 過身, 死 | |
Jiangmen (Xinhui) | 死, 過身 | |
Taishan | 死, 善, 去 | |
Kaiping (Chikan) | 死, 登仙 | |
Enping (Niujiang) | 過身, 死 | |
Heshan (Yayao) | 死 | |
Dongguan | 死, 老 †, 去返 †, 去舊時嗰處 †, 視埋眼 †, 伸直腳 †, 入罌 †, 拉柴 §, 去大煙筒 § | |
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) | 死, 過身 | |
Yangjiang | 死, 過輩 †, 老 †, ‡, 老大 †, ‡ | |
Singapore (Guangfu) | 死, 過身 † | |
Gan | Nanchang | 死, 過世 †, 老 † |
Lichuan | 死 | |
Pingxiang | 死, 過 †, 走路 †, 老 †, ‡, 去 | |
Hakka | Meixian | 死, 老, 過身 †, 消 †, 老壽 †, ‡ |
Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua) | 過身, 香 † | |
Dongguan (Qingxi) | 過身, 死 | |
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) | 死, 過身 | |
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) | 死 | |
Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua) | 死, 過身 | |
Yudu | 死, 過世 †, 過套 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †, 轉該背 †, 歸仙 †, 轉老外婆裡 ¤ | |
Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † | |
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † | |
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † | |
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † | |
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † | |
Miaoli (Zhuolan; Raoping) | 消 | |
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 死, 過身 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † | |
Hong Kong | 過身, 老 | |
Huizhou | Jixi | 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過身 †, 不在 †, 過老 §, 過邊 §, 進棺材 §, 進風水 §, 翹扁 §, ¤ |
Jin | Taiyuan | 死, 沒啦 †, 走 †, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 老客 †, ‡ |
Xinzhou | 死, 回老家 †, 硬 §, 㞗朝天 of a man, vulgar, 倒蕎麥皮 | |
Northern Min | Jian'ou | 死, 過身 †, 老 †, ‡ |
Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 死, 過去 †, 過世 †, 過後 †, 歸西 †, 百歲 †, 老去 †, ‡, 堯街去 ¤, 堯生去 ¤, 溜翹 ¤, 殂 ¤, 去算米數 ¤, 去外媽食齋 ¤, 去外媽 ¤, 去䁐廬山 ¤, 去厝去 ¤, 睏長暝眠 ¤, 翹齋 ¤, 揭兜去 ¤, 拔直去 ¤, 上天去 ¤, 生去 ¤, 𣪟去 ¤, 䁐松柏樹 ¤, 䁐松柏 ¤, 轉祖 § |
Southern Min | Xiamen | 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, ‡, 百年 †, ‡, 百歲年老 †, ‡, 行去 †, 無去 †, 㾀 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 § |
Quanzhou | 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, ‡, 百年 †, ‡, 無去 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 § | |
Yongchun | 死, 過身 †, 老去 †, ‡ | |
Zhangzhou | 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, ‡, 百年 †, ‡, 百歲年老 †, ‡, 行去 †, 無去 †, 起身 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 誆牽 §, 㾀 §, 㾀歹 §, 馬滴 § | |
Taipei | 死去, 老 †, ‡, 過身 † | |
New Taipei (Sanxia) | 死去, 老去 †, ‡, 往生 †, 過身 † | |
Kaohsiung | 死去, 老去 †, ‡, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 † | |
Yilan | 死去, 老去 †, ‡, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 過往 † | |
Changhua (Lukang) | 死去, 老 †, ‡, 無去 †, 過身 †, 轉去 † | |
Taichung | 死去, 往生 †, 過身 † | |
Tainan | 死去, 老去 †, ‡, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 去蘇州賣鴨卵 †, 轉去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 轉去蘇州賣鴨卵 † | |
Hsinchu | 曲去, 去咯 †, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 †, ‡ | |
Kinmen | 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 行去 † | |
Penghu (Magong) | 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 †, ‡ | |
Singapore (Hokkien) | 死, 馬滴, 死翹翹, 過身 †, 百年 †, ‡, 百歲 †, ‡, 過氣 †, 起車 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 行去 †, 蟯去 †, 吭跤翹 †, 交登記 † | |
Manila (Hokkien) | 死, 死去, 過面 †, 過身 †, 老去 †, ‡ | |
Chaozhou | 死, 過身 †, 過世 † | |
Jieyang | 過身, 吭跤翹, 吭翹 | |
Singapore (Teochew) | 死, 過身 | |
Leizhou | 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過目焗 ¤, 直筒 §, 刮薯減米 § | |
Haikou | 死, 過層 †, ‡, 老 †, ‡, 貓使 § | |
Singapore (Hainanese) | 死 | |
Zhongshan Min | Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) | 死 |
Southern Pinghua | Nanning (Tingzi) | 死, 瓜老襯, 過世, 歸西 |
Wu | Shanghai | 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 一腳去 †, 翹辮子 §, ¤, 彈老三 §, 翹老三 § |
Shanghai (Chongming) | 死, 老 †, 故 †, 翹辮子 ¤ | |
Suzhou | 死, 壞, 去, 過世 †, 翹辮子 § | |
Danyang | 死 | |
Hangzhou | 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 翹辮兒 ¤, 到龍駒塢去 | |
Shaoxing | 死 | |
Ningbo | 死, 翹辮子 §, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 死脫 §, 燂茶, 山裡去, 吃豆腐羹, 嘸沒來的 †, 老 † | |
Wenzhou | 死, 冇 †, 過輩 †, ‡, 蹻 ¤ | |
Jinhua | 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 弗在 †, 老 †, ‡ | |
Xiang | Changsha | 死, 過 †, 去 †, 瓜, 彈, 彈四郎 |
Loudi | 死, 過世 †, 故 †, 上岸 † | |
Shuangfeng | 死, 過世 †, 故 † | |
Hengyang | 死 | |
Note | † - euphemistic; ‡ - usually of the elderly; ¤ - humorous; § - derogatory/disrespectful |
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɦam]
- Hyphenation: ham
Interjection
ham
- nom (indicating the action of eating)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “ham”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
- “ham”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
- “ham”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025
Danish
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Norse hamr, Proto-Germanic *hamaz, *hamô.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhɑmˀ/, [ˈhɑ̈mˀ]
Noun
ham c (singular definite hammen, plural indefinite hamme)
Declension
common gender |
singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | ham | hammen | hamme | hammene |
genitive | hams | hammens | hammes | hammenes |
Derived terms
- dyreham
- fjederham
- fugleham
- hamskifte
- hamskifter
- slangeham
- snogeham
- svaneham
Etymology 2
Older hannem, from Old Norse hǫnum, the dative of hann (“he”). Compare Swedish honom.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɑm/, [hɑ̈m]
Pronoun
ham
See also
Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | Possessive | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
common | neuter | plural | |||||
Singular | First | – | jeg | mig | min | mit | mine |
Second | modern / informal | du | dig | din | dit | dine | |
formal (uncommon) | De | Dem | Deres | ||||
Third | masculine (person) | han | ham | hans | |||
feminine (person) | hun | hende | hendes | ||||
common (noun) | den | dens | |||||
neuter (noun) | det | dets | |||||
indefinite | man | en | ens | ||||
reflexive | – | sig | sin | sit | sine | ||
Plural | First | modern | vi | os | vores | ||
archaic / formal | vor | vort | vore | ||||
Second | – | I | jer | jeres | |||
Third | – | de | dem | deres | |||
reflexive | – | sig |
Dutch
Etymology
Inherited from Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch *hama, from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɦɑm/
Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: ham
- Rhymes: -ɑm
- Homophone: Ham
Noun
ham f (plural hammen, diminutive hammetje n)
- ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)
Derived terms
- beenham
- hamvraag
- schouderham
Descendants
- → Papiamentu: ham
Fiji Hindi
Etymology
Derived from Hindi हम (ham, “we, I”).
Pronoun
ham
- I (1st person singular personal pronoun)
- Ham khelegaa!
- I will play!
Fyer
Etymology
Cognate with Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun
ham
References
- Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
- Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
- […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
- (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Ron *ham [GT]: Fyer & Bks. & DB & Sha ham, Klr. ˀaàm […]
- Václav Blažek, A Lexicostatistical comparison of Omotic languages, in In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the four fields of anthropology, page 122
Galician
Verb
ham
- (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of haver
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ham/
Verb
ham
- (colloquial) contraction of haben; pronunciation spelling of haben
- Wir ham grad gefrühstückt. ― We've just had breakfast.
Usage notes
Usually used in the present or to form the perfect, though it may be seen in the infinitive as well. See also the note at haben.
See also
Irish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [haːmˠ], [hamˠ]
Noun
ham m
- h-prothesized form of am
Laz
Pronoun
ham
- Latin spelling of ჰამ (ham)
Middle English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old English ham, hamm (“enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *hamm, from Proto-Germanic *hammaz.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ham/
Noun
ham (plural hammes)
References
- “hamme, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 April 2019.
Etymology 2
Noun
ham
- alternative form of hamme (“back of the knee”)
Etymology 3
Pronoun
ham
- alternative form of hem (“them”)
Etymology 4
Pronoun
ham
- (Early Middle English) alternative form of hem (“them”)
- c1225, Þe Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Iuliene, ed. S. T. R. O. d'Ardenne, pp. 3-71.
- [Juliana] custe ham coss os peis [Roy: acos of pes] alle as ha stoden.
- c1225, Þe Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Iuliene, ed. S. T. R. O. d'Ardenne, pp. 3-71.
Etymology 5
Noun
ham
- (Early Middle English, Northern) alternative form of hom (“home”)
Middle French
Noun
ham m (plural hams)
Montol
Etymology
Cognate with Mwaghavul am (“water”).
Noun
hàm
References
- Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
- […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
- (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Tal hàm [Jng./JI], Mnt. hàm "Wasser" [Jng. 1965, 171], […]
North Frisian
Pronoun
ham
- (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring) Object case of hi: him, himself
- (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring) Object case of hat: it, (in practice chiefly) itself
- (Föhr-Amrum) Object case of hat: her, herself
Alternative forms
- (him): 'n (reduced form), höm (Sylt)
- (it): at, et, 't (reduced forms), höm (Sylt)
- (her): 't (reduced form), har (Mooring), höör (Sylt)
See also
personal | possessive | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
subject case | object case | masculine referent | feminine / neuter referent | plural referent | |||||||
full | reduced | full | reduced | attributive | independent | ||||||
singular | 1st | ik | 'k | mi | man | min | minen | ||||
2nd | dü | – | di | dan | din | dinen | |||||
3rd | m | hi | 'r | ham | 'n | san | sin | sinen | |||
f or n | hat | at, 't | at, 't | ||||||||
plural | 1st | wi | 'f | üs | üüs | üüsen | |||||
üsens | |||||||||||
2nd | jam | 'm | jam | jau | jauen | ||||||
jamens | |||||||||||
3rd | jo | 's | jo | 's | hör | hören | |||||
hörens |
- The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts.
- At is not enclitic; it can stand in any unstressed position and refers mostly to things. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur.
- Dual forms wat / onk and jat / jonk are obsolete, as is feminine jü / hör.
- Independent possessives are distinguished from attributive ones only with plural referents.
- The forms üsens, jamens, hörens are used optionally (and decreasingly) when the possessor is a larger community, such as a village, city or nation.
personal | possessive | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
subject case | object case | masculine referent |
feminine / neuter / plural referent | ||||||
full | reduced | full | reduced | ||||||
singular | 1st | ik | 'k | me | man | min | |||
2nd | dü | – | de | dan | din | ||||
3rd | m | hi | 'r | ham | 'n | san | sin | ||
f | jü | 's | har | 's | harn | har | |||
n | hat | et, 't | ham | et, 't | san | sin | |||
plural | 1st | we | üs | üüsen | üüs | ||||
2nd | jam | 'm | jam | jarnge | |||||
3rd | ja | 's | ja, jam | 's | jare |
The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts.
Et is not enclitic and can stand in any unstressed position; the full subject form hat is now rarely used. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur.
Dual forms wat / unk and jat / junk are obsolete. Attributive and independent possessives are not distinguished in Mooring.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Norse hann.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɑm/
Pronoun
ham
See also
Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | Possessive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
feminine | masculine | neuter | plural | |||||
Singular | First | – | jeg | meg | mi | min | mitt | mine |
Second | general | du | deg | di | din | ditt | dine | |
formal (rare) | De | Dem | Deres | |||||
Third | feminine (person) | hun | henne | hennes | ||||
masculine (person) | han | ham / han | hans | |||||
feminine (noun) | den | dens | ||||||
masculine (noun) | ||||||||
neuter (noun) | det | dets | ||||||
reflexive | – | seg | si | sin | sitt | sine | ||
Plural | First | – | vi | oss | vår | vårt | våre | |
Second | general | dere | deres | |||||
formal (very rare) | De | Dem | Deres | |||||
Third | general | de | dem | deres | ||||
reflexive | – | seg | si | sin | sitt | sine |
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old Norse hamr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɑːm/
Noun
ham m (definite singular hammen, indefinite plural hammer, definite plural hammene)
Derived terms
References
- “ham” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
- “ham_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
- “ham_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɑːm/
Noun
ham m (definite singular hamen, indefinite plural hamar, definite plural hamane)
Derived terms
References
- “ham” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *haim, from Proto-Germanic *haimaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /xɑːm/, [hɑːm]
Noun
hām m
- home
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- Ōsrēd, þe wæs Norþanhymbra cining, æfter wræcsīþe hām cumenum ġelǣht wæs ⁊ ofslagen on XVIII Kƚ Octoƀ ⁊ his līc liġþ æt Tīnamūþe. ⁊ Æþelrēd cining feng tō nīwan wīfe, sēo wæs Ælflēd ġehāten, on III Kƚ Octobr̃.
- Osred, who was king of Northumbrian, was apprehended and slain on the 17th of October after coming home from his exile, and his body lies at Tynemouth. And King Aethelred took a new wife, whose name was Aelfled, on the third of October.
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Assumption of St. John the Apostle"
- Ða het se apostol ða bære settan, and cwæð, "Min Drihten, Hælend Crist! Arære ðe, Drusiana; aris, and ġecyrr hām, and gearca ús gereordunge on þinum hūse." Drusiana þa arás swilce of slæpe awreht, and, carfull be ðæs apostoles hæse, hām gewende.
- Then the apostle bade them set down the bier, and said, "My Lord, Jesus Christ! Raise thee, Drusiana; arise, and return home, and prepare refection for us in thy house." Drusiana then arose as if from sleep awakened, and, mindful of the apostle's command, returned home.
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- property, estate, farm
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"
- ...and forġeaf sumne hām tō þǣre hālgan stōwe...
- ...and gave certain property to the holy place...
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"
- village; community
Usage notes
- In early Old English, the dative singular was always hām, not the expected form hāme.
Declension
Strong a-stem:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | hām | hāmas |
accusative | hām | hāmas |
genitive | hāmes | hāma |
dative | hām, hāme | hāmum |
Derived terms
Adverb
hām
- home, homeward
- hām gān ― to go home
- hām cuman ― to come home
- hām ċierran ― to turn home
- hām bringan ― to bring home
Descendants
Etymology 2
Inherited from Proto-Germanic *hammaz. Cognate with Old Frisian ham, Middle Low German hamme (Low Low German Hamm).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]
Noun
ham m
- alternative form of hamm (“enclosure”)
Etymology 3
Inherited from Proto-Germanic *hammō.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]
Noun
ham f
- alternative form of hamm (“inner knee”)
Etymology 4
Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ham, from Proto-Germanic *hamaz (“covering”). Cognate with Old Norse hamr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]
Noun
ham m
Declension
Strong a-stem:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | ham | hamas |
accusative | ham | hamas |
genitive | hames | hama |
dative | hame | hamum |
Related terms
Old French
Etymology
Borrowed from Frankish *haim (“home, village”).
Noun
ham oblique singular, m (oblique plural hans, nominative singular hans, nominative plural ham)
Descendants
Old Frisian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *haim. Cognates include Old English hām and Old Saxon hēm.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhaːm/
Noun
hām m
Descendants
References
- Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 28
Old Norse
Noun
ham
- accusative/dative singular of hamr
Rohingya
Noun
ham
Derived terms
- hammwa
- kuham
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ham/
- Rhymes: -am
Etymology 1
Noun
ham n (plural hamuri)
Declension
singular | plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | ||
nominative-accusative | ham | hamul | hamuri | hamurile | |
genitive-dative | ham | hamului | hamuri | hamurilor | |
vocative | hamule | hamurilor |
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Onomatopoeic.
Interjection
ham!
- woof (the sound a barking dog makes)
See also
Ron
Etymology
Cognate with Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun
ham
- (most dialects, including Mangar, Bokkos, Daffo-Butura, Shagawu) water
Synonyms
- àyîn (Monguna)
References
- Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
- Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
- […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
- (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Ron *ham [GT]: Fyer & Bks. & DB & Sha ham, Klr. ˀaàm […]
Serbo-Croatian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Noun
hȃm m inan (Cyrillic spelling ха̑м)
Sha
Etymology
Cognate with Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun
ham
References
- Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
Tal
Etymology
Cognate with Mwaghavul am (“water”).
Noun
hàm
References
- Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 201, →ISBN:
- […] we should carefully distinguish the following Ch. roots from AA *m-ˀ "water" [GT]:
- (1) Ch. *h-m "water" [GT]: WCh. *hama [Stl.]: AS *ham (Gmy. *hām) [GT 2004, 153] = *am [Stl. 1977] = *ham [Dlg.] = *ham [Stl. 1987]: […] Tal hàm [Jng./JI], Mnt. hàm "Wasser" [Jng. 1965, 171], […]
Tambas
Etymology
Cognate with Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun
ham
References
- Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
Turkish
Etymology
Derived from Persian خام (xâm).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɑm/
Audio: (file)
Adjective
ham
Upper Sorbian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɦam/
Noun
ham m inan
See also
- (Latin-script letter names) a, bej, cej, čej, ćet, dźej / dźet, dee, ej, ět, ef, gej, ha, cha, i, jot / jót, kay, eł, el, em, en, eń, o, ó, pej, er, eř, es, eš, tej, u, wej, y / ypsilon, zet, žet
Vietnamese
Etymology
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 噉 (SV: hám).
Pronunciation
Adjective
- greedy
- ham chơi ― (disapproving) to be obsessed with fooling around
- eager; keen
Derived terms
See also
West Frisian
Etymology
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hammō. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Noun
ham c (plural hammen, diminutive hamke)
Further reading
- “ham (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
Yola
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English hem, him, from Old English him.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ham/, /ɛm/, /hɪm/
Pronoun
ham
- him
- 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
- Ich drowe ham.
- I throw him.
Derived terms
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 36