ham
English edit
Etymology 1 edit
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”).
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.
Pronunciation edit
- enPR: hăm, IPA(key): /ˈhæm/
- (Southern England, General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈhæːm/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -æm
Noun edit
ham (countable and uncountable, plural hams)
- (anatomy) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
- (countable) A thigh and buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat.
- (uncountable) Meat from the thigh of a hog cured for food.
- a little piece of ham for the cat
- 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.
- (Internet, informal, uncommon) Electronic mail that is wanted; mail that is not spam or junk mail.
- Synonym: ham e-mail
- Antonym: spam
Derived terms edit
- Admiralty ham
- Bayonne ham
- Black Forest ham
- 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
- hambone
- ham chin peng
- ham e-mail
- ham-fisted
- ham-fistedly
- ham-handed
- ham-handedly
- ham-handedness
- ham hands
- ham hock
- hammy, hamstring
- hamplanet
- ham salad
- ham-sandwich
- ham sandwich
- ham sandwich theorem
- ham shank
- ham steak
- ham up
- 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 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.
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English hām.
Noun edit
ham (uncountable)
Usage notes edit
- Persists in many old place names, such as Buckingham.
References edit
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Etymology 3 edit
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 edit
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 edit
Translations edit
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Verb edit
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 edit
Translations edit
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See also edit
References edit
Anagrams edit
Afrikaans edit
Etymology edit
From Dutch ham, from Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham (plural hamme, diminutive hammetjie)
- ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)
Caribbean Hindustani edit
Etymology edit
Pronoun edit
ham
References edit
- Beknopt Nederland-Sarnami Woordenboek met Sarnami Hindoestani-Nederlanse Woordenlijst[2] (in Dutch), Paramaribo: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, 2002
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham m (plural hams)
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “ham” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Cebuano edit
Etymology edit
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 edit
ham
- ham; meat from the thigh of a hog cured for food
Chamorro edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami. Cognates include Indonesian kami and Tagalog kami.
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
ham
Usage notes edit
- 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 edit
hu-type pronouns | |||
---|---|---|---|
singular | plural inclusive | plural exclusive | |
1st person | hu | ta | in |
2nd person | un | en | |
3rd person | ha | ma | |
yoʼ-type pronouns | |||
singular | plural inclusive | plural exclusive | |
1st person | yoʼ | hit | ham |
2nd person | hao | hamyo | |
3rd person | gueʼ | siha | |
emphatic pronouns | |||
singular | plural inclusive | plural exclusive | |
1st person | guahu | hita | hami |
2nd person | hagu | hamyo | |
3rd person | guiya | siha |
References edit
- Donald M. Topping (1973) Chamorro Reference Grammar[3], Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Chinese edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
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]
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
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 edit
Danish edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Old Norse hamr, Proto-Germanic *hamaz, *hamô.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham c (singular definite hammen, plural indefinite hamme)
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
Older hannem, from Old Norse hǫnum, the dative of hann (“he”). Compare Swedish honom.
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
ham
See also edit
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 | De | Dem | Deres | ||||
Third | masculine (person) | han | ham | hans | |||
feminine (person) | hun | hende | hendes | ||||
common(noun) | den | dens | |||||
neuter(noun) | det | dets | |||||
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 edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch *hama, from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham f (plural hammen, diminutive hammetje n)
- ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- → Papiamentu: ham
Fiji Hindi edit
Etymology edit
Pronoun edit
ham
- I (1st person singular personal pronoun)
- Ham khelegaa!
- I will play!
Fyer edit
Etymology edit
Related to Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun edit
ham
References edit
- 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 edit
Verb edit
ham
- (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of haver
German edit
Etymology edit
A pronunciation spelling of haben.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
ham
- (colloquial) Contraction of haben
- Wir ham grad gefrühstückt. ― We've just had breakfast.
Usage notes edit
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.
Irish edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham m
- h-prothesized form of am
Laz edit
Pronoun edit
ham
- Latin spelling of ჰამ (ham)
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
Inherited from Old English ham, hamm (“enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *hamm, from Proto-Germanic *hammaz.
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham (plural hammes)
References edit
- “hamme, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-04-04.
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
ham (plural hames)
- Alternative form of hamme (“back of the knee”)
Etymology 3 edit
Pronoun edit
ham
- Alternative form of hem (“them”)
Etymology 4 edit
From Old English heom
Pronoun edit
ham
- (Early Middle English) Alternative form of him (“him”)
- 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 edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
- (Early Middle English, Northern) Alternative form of hom (“home”)
Middle French edit
Noun edit
ham m (plural hams)
Montol edit
Etymology edit
Related to Mwaghavul am (“water”).
Noun edit
hàm
References edit
- 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 edit
Pronoun edit
ham
Alternative forms edit
- höm (Sylt)
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Etymology 1 edit
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
ham
See also edit
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 edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham m (definite singular hammen, indefinite plural hammer, definite plural hammene)
Derived terms edit
References edit
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham m (definite singular hamen, indefinite plural hamar, definite plural hamane)
Derived terms edit
References edit
- “ham” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Proto-West Germanic *haim, from Proto-Germanic *haimaz.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hām m
- home
- 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.
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Assumption of St. John the Apostle"
- property, estate, farm
- village; community
Usage notes edit
- In early Old English, the dative singular was always hām, not the expected form hāme.
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
Adverb edit
hām
- home, homeward
- hām gān ― to go home
- hām cuman ― to come home
- hām ċierran ― to turn home
- hām bringan ― to bring home
Descendants edit
Etymology 2 edit
From Proto-Germanic *hammaz. Cognate with Old Frisian ham, Middle Low German hamme (Low Low German Hamm).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham m
- Alternative form of hamm (“enclosure”)
Etymology 3 edit
From Proto-Germanic *hammō.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham f
- Alternative form of hamm (“inner knee”)
Etymology 4 edit
From Proto-West Germanic *ham, from Proto-Germanic *hamaz (“covering”). Cognate with Old Norse hamr.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ham m
Declension edit
Related terms edit
Old French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Frankish *haim (“home, village”).
Noun edit
ham oblique singular, m (oblique plural hans, nominative singular hans, nominative plural ham)
Descendants edit
Old Frisian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-West Germanic *haim. Cognates include Old English hām and Old Saxon hēm.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hām m
Descendants edit
References edit
- Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 28
Old Norse edit
Noun edit
ham
Rohingya edit
Noun edit
ham
Derived terms edit
Romanian edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
Noun edit
ham n (plural hamuri)
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
Interjection edit
ham!
- woof, the sound a barking dog makes
See also edit
Ron edit
Etymology edit
Related to Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun edit
ham
Synonyms edit
- àyîn (Monguna)
References edit
- 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 edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
hȃm m (Cyrillic spelling ха̑м)
Sha edit
Etymology edit
Related to Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun edit
ham
References edit
- Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
Tal edit
Etymology edit
Related to Mwaghavul am (“water”).
Noun edit
hàm
References edit
- 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 edit
Etymology edit
Related to Gerka ram (“water”).
Noun edit
ham
References edit
- Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist
Turkish edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
ham
Vietnamese edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
- greedy
- ham chơi
- (disapproving) to be obsessed with fooling around
- eager; keen
Derived terms edit
See also edit
West Frisian edit
Etymology edit
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hammō. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Noun edit
ham c (plural hammen, diminutive hamke)
Further reading edit
- “ham (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
Yola edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English ham, from Old English heom.
Pronoun edit
ham
- Alternative form of him
- 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
- Ich drowe ham.
- I throw him.
References edit
- Jacob Poole (1867), 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, page 36