wem
Contents
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English wem, wemme, from Old English wamm (“stain, spot, scar, disgrace, defect, defilement, sin, evil, crime, injury, loss, hurt, misfortune”), from Proto-Germanic *wammaz (“stain, spot”), from Proto-Indo-European *wemh₁- (“to spew, vomit”). Cognate with Icelandic vamm (“loss, damage”), Latin vomō (“vomit”, verb) (English vomit), Ancient Greek ἐμέω (eméō, “I spew”) (English emesis), Lithuanian vemti (“to vomit”), Sanskrit वमति (vamati, “to vomit”)
Alternative formsEdit
NounEdit
wem (plural wems)
- (Britain dialectal) A spot; stain; mark; scar; weal; bruise.
- (Britain dialectal) A (moral) blemish; fault; blemish; taint.
- (Britain dialectal) Neglect; damage.
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
From Middle English wemmen, from Old English wemman (“to defile, besmirch, profane, injure, ill-treat, destroy, abuse, revile”), from Proto-Germanic *wammijaną (“to stain”), from Proto-Indo-European *wem- (“to spew, vomit”).
VerbEdit
wem (third-person singular simple present wems, present participle wemming, simple past and past participle wemmed)
- (transitive, Britain dialectal) To injure or disfigure; blemish; mark; scar.
- (transitive, Britain dialectal) To defile; pollute; corrupt; vitiate.
- (transitive, Britain dialectal) To violate (one's word).