tam

tam

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Tamil.

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Tamil terms

• IPA^(key): /tæm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Ellipsis of tam o'shanter.

tam (plural tams)

1. Clipping of tam o'shanter, a type of cap.
   • 1988 July 1, Bryan Miller, “A Gathering of Scots”, in Chicago Reader‎^[1]:

     Despite the blaze of sunshine, woolens were everywhere: tams, kilts, socks drawn up to knobby knees.

From the Cantonese pronunciation of 擔 / 担.

tam (plural tams)

1. Synonym of picul, a unit of weight, particularly in Cantonese contexts.

• AMT, ATM, MAT, MTA, Mat, Mat., TMA, amt, amt., atm, mat, mat.

From Arabic تَامّ (tāmm).

tam

1. (of a task to be completed) done; finished; complete

   Mən kitabı hələ tam oxumamışam. ― I have not finished reading the book.

2. completely, really

   Mən bu məsələni tam başa düşmədim. ― I haven't really understood this issue.

From Arabic طَعْم (ṭaʕm).

tam (definite accusative tamı, plural tamlar)

1. taste

   Synonym: dad

• tamsız

• “tam” in Obastan.com.

• IPA^(key): /tɑm/

tam

1. water

• Howell, S. (1984). Society and cosmos: Chewong of peninsular Malaysia. p. 128.
• Kruspe, N. (2009). Ceq Wong vocabulary. In: Haspelmath, M. & Tadmoor, U. (eds.). World Loanword Database.

Borrowed from Arabic تَامّ (tāmm).

tam

1. teeming, full

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[2], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Inherited from Old Czech tamo, from Proto-Slavic *tamo.

• IPA^(key): [ˈtam]

• Audio:

  (file)

tam

1. there (in or at that place or location)

   Synonym: (dialectal) hyn

2. there (to or into that place)

   Antonyms: zpět, zpátky

• “tam”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “tam”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “tam”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

From Old Danish tam, from Old Norse tamr, from Proto-Germanic *tamaz, from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂-.

tam

1. tame

• “tam” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Old Dutch *tam, from Proto-Germanic *tamaz.

• IPA^(key): /tɑm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑm

tam (comparative tammer, superlative tamst)

1. tame, not wild
2. (figuratively) boring, unexciting, bland

Declension of tam
uninflected	tam
inflected	tamme
comparative	tammer
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		tam	tammer	het tamst het tamste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	tamme	tammere	tamste
	n. sing.	tam	tammer	tamste
	plural	tamme	tammere	tamste
definite		tamme	tammere	tamste
partitive		tams	tammers	—

• Afrikaans: tam
• Negerhollands: teem

• mat

Borrowed from Latin tam.

• IPA^(key): /tam/

tam

1. as (in comparison), so (followed by an adj.)

• kam (“than, as, to (in comparison)”)

Kabyle cardinal numbers

<  7	8	9  >
Cardinal : tam     Arabic loanword : tmanya

From Proto-Berber.

• IPA^(key): /tam/

tam (feminine tamet)

1. eight

   Synonym: tmanya

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *tamo.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtam/
• Rhymes: -am
• Syllabification: tam

tam (not comparable)

1. there

   Coordinate term: tu

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “tam”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[3]
• “tam”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

tam

1. honey

• Goldberg, Justin, Asadik, Habte, Bekama, Jiregna, Mengistu, Mulat (2016) Gwama – English Dictionary‎^[4], SIL International

From Proto-Italic *sei, from Proto-Indo-European *téh₂m, accusative of *séh₂, feminine of *só. Compare with its masculine form Latin tum, as in cum-quam.^[1]

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtãː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈt̪am]

tam (not comparable)

1. so, so much, to such an extent, to such a degree

   Synonyms: adeō, eō, tantopere, tantum

   Sextus tam iratus erat ut fratrem interficere vellet.

   Sextus was so angry that he wished to kill his brother.

Often coupled with quam.

1. Such that "tam x, quam y" = "so x, as y"
   • Spinoza, Ethica Liber V:

     Sed omnia praeclara tam difficilia, quam rara sunt.

     But all things excellent are as rare as they are difficult

Often sets off a subjunctive clause of result.

• tamen
• tamquam
• tandem
• tantus

• “tam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "tam", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• tam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[5], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • amongst such moral depravity: tam perditis or corruptis moribus
    

tam

1. to that; dative singular masculine of tas

• The dative and adverbial forms have one pronunciation, while the locative form has another.

tám

1. dative singular masculine of tàs

   tám výrui ― to that man

tám

1. for that purpose
2. so that, in order to [followed by kàd + a subordinate clause, often in the subjunctive]

   Válgo daržóves tám, kàd bū́tų svei̇̃kas. ― (He) eats vegetables in order to be healthy.

tam̃

1. alternative form of tamè: locative singular masculine of tàs

   tam̃ miestè ― in that city

• “tam”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2025
• “tam”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2025

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *tamo.

• IPA^(key): [tam]

tam

1. there (in that place)

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “tam”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “tam”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

tam

1. alternative form of tame (“tame”)

tam

1. (Northern, after d or t) alternative form of þem (“them”)

From Arabic طَعْم (ṭaʕm).

Central Kurdish	تام (tam)

tam m

1. taste

• IPA^(key): [tʰɑːm]

tam

1. precisely, exactly

From Old Anatolian Turkish طام (d̥am).

• IPA^(key): [tɑːm]

tam ?

1. house, building, structure

From Old Norse tamr.

tam (neuter singular tamt, definite singular and plural tamme)

1. tame, domesticated

• temme

• “tam” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse tamr.

tam (neuter singular tamt, definite singular and plural tamme)

1. tame, domesticated

• temja, temje

• “tam” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• tom

From Proto-West Germanic *tam.

• IPA^(key): /tɑm/

tam

1. tame

• Middle English: tame, tam, tom, tome (early Southwest and Southwest Midlands)
  • English: tame
  • Scots: tame

• tamo

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *tamo. First attested in the 14th century.

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /tam/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /tam/

tam

1. there (at that place)
2. there, thither (to that place)

• Polish: tam
• Silesian: tam

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “tam”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “2. tam”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

• IPA^(key): /ˈtam/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Audio 3:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -am
• Syllabification: tam

Inherited from Old Polish tam.

tam (not comparable)

1. there (at that place)

   Coordinate term: tu

2. there, thither (to that place)

   Synonym: dotąd

   Coordinate term: tu

• ta (Kuyavia, Przemyśl)
• tamoj (Chełmno-Dobrzyń, Kuyavia, Przemyśl, Podegrodzie)
• tamo (Chełmno)
• tamuj (Near Masovian)

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), tam (adverb) is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 34 times in scientific texts, 35 times in news, 70 times in essays, 148 times in fiction, and 216 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 503 times, making it the 87th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[1]

tam

1. contrastive particle

   Ja tam to lubię. ― Yeah well I like it.

2. (colloquial) particle that reduces the importance of something some

   coś tam ― something or other

3. (colloquial) particle that marks a statement as inadequately describing something

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), tam (particle) is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 0 times in scientific texts, 0 times in news, 0 times in essays, 27 times in fiction, and 78 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 105 times, making it the 593rd most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[2]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

tam f

1. genitive plural of tama

• tam in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• tam in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• “TAM I”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 10 May 2016
• “TAM II”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 14 January 2008
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “tam”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “tam”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1919), “tam”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 7, Warsaw, page 15

tam (not comparable)

1. obsolete spelling of tão

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *tam- (“to drip”). Cognate with Southern Altai тамар (tamar, “to drip”), Turkish damlamak.

tam

1. (intransitive) to drip

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “tam”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *tamo.

tam (Cyrillic spelling там)

1. (Kajkavian, regional) there

   Synonym: tamo

Inherited from Old Polish tam.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtam/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -am
• Syllabification: tam

tam

1. there (at that place)

   Synonyms: (regional) hań, (Cieszyń) hanej, (Cieszyń) han

   Coordinate terms: sam, tukej, tu

tam

1. (expressive) particle that highlights the similarities of something

• tam in dykcjonorz.eu
• tam in silling.org

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *tamo.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtam/

tam

1. there

   Antonym: tu

2. thither

   Synonym: ta

   Antonym: sem

• “tam”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *tamo.

• IPA^(key): /tám/

tȁm

1. there, in that place

• “tam”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

From Old Swedish tamber, from Old Norse tamr, from Proto-Germanic *tamaz, from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂-.

tam (comparative tamare, superlative tamast)

1. tame (not afraid of people)
2. (often in compounds) domestic, domesticated

   Synonym: domesticerad

• tamdjur (“domestic animal”)
• tamfår (“domestic sheep”)
• tamkatt (“domestic cat”)

• tämja

• tam in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• tam in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• tam in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• mat, mat.

tam

1. wall

From Ottoman Turkish تام (tam, “complete, exact; completely, exactly”), from Arabic تَامّ (tāmm).

• IPA^(key): /tam/

tam

1. complete, absolute
2. full, entire

• tam sayı
• tamlık

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “tam”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Redhouse, James W. (1890) “تام”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[6], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 480

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *tamo. Cognate with Lower Sorbian tam.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtam/
• Rhymes: -am
• Hyphenation: tam
• Syllabification: tam

tam

1. there

• “tam” in Soblex

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [taːm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [taːm˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [taːm˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

From Proto-Vietic *k-saːm. Cognate with Arem katʰæːm, Thavung saːm¹, Kuy sɛːm, Khmu [Cuang] hɛːm.

Attested in Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經) as 三 (MC sam) (modern SV: tam).

The term was probably already archaic in Northern Old Vietnamese by the time it started to be written down and was only attested in the compound 󰞿三 (anh tam, “elder brother and younger sibling”). However, it continues to be used until present days (although also seems to be limited in certain compounds) in the conservative North Central dialects of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị.

tam • (三)

1. (Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, obsolete in all other dialects) younger sibling
   • 15th century, Nguyễn Trãi, “述興 Thuật hứng 19”, in Quốc âm thi tập (國音詩集):

     𡶀廊盈𪀄部伴
     𩄲客次月󰞿三

     Núi láng diềng, chim bầu bạn,
     Mây khách thứa, nguyệt anh tam.

     Mountains as neighbors, birds are friends,
     Clouds as guests, the moon is my kin.

• eng tam
• em tam

tam

1. Sino-Vietnamese reading of 三

• ba

tam

1. taste