ham

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ham"

Translingual

Symbol

ham

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Hewa.

See also

  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Hewa terms

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)

  1. (anatomy) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
  2. (countable) A thigh and/or buttock of a hog slaughtered for meat; (occasionally) the corresponding cut from some other animal.
    Hypernyms: cut; meat < food
  3. (uncountable) Meat from the thigh and/or buttock of a hog cured for food.
    Hypernyms: meat < 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.
  4. The back of the thigh of humans or certain other animals.
  5. (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
Translations
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)

  1. Obsolete form of home.
Usage notes
  • Persists in many old place names, such as Buckingham.

References

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)

    1. (acting) An overacting or amateurish performer; an actor with an especially showy or exaggerated style.
      Synonyms: hambone, hamfatter, overactor, tear-cat
      • 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.”
    2. (radio) An amateur radio operator.
      Synonym: radio amateur
    Derived terms
    Translations

    Verb

    ham (third-person singular simple present hams, present participle hamming, simple past and past participle hammed)

    1. (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
    See also

    See also

    References

    1. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (1997), The Facts on File encyclopedia of word and phrase origins, New York: Facts on File, →ISBN
    2. ^ Morris, William (1988), Morris dictionary of word and phrase origins, New York: Harper & Row, →ISBN
    3. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “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)

    1. ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)

    Caribbean Hindustani

    Etymology

    Inherited from Bhojpuri हम (ham), from Prakrit 𑀅𑀫𑁆𑀳𑁂 (amhe), from Sanskrit अस्मे (asme). Cognate with Fiji Hindi ham.

    Pronoun

    ham

    1. I

    References

    • Beknopt Nederland-Sarnami Woordenboek met Sarnami Hindoestani-Nederlanse Woordenlijst[2] (in Dutch), Paramaribo: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, 2002

    Catalan

    Etymology

    Derived from Latin hamus.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    ham m (plural hams)

    1. fishhook

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    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

    1. ham (meat from the thigh of a hog cured for food)

    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

    1. we, us (exclusive)

    Usage notes

    See also

    Chamorro personal pronouns
    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


    Verb

    ham

    1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, slang, euphemistic) to die

    Synonyms

    Czech

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [ˈɦam]
    • Hyphenation: ham

    Interjection

    ham

    1. nom (indicating the action of eating)

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    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)

    1. slough, skin
    Declension
    Declension of ham
    common
    gender
    singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative ham hammen hamme hammene
    genitive hams hammens hammes hammenes
    Derived terms

    Etymology 2

    Older hannem, from Old Norse hǫnum, the dative of hann (he). Compare Swedish honom.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /hɑm/, [hɑ̈m]

    Pronoun

    ham

    1. (personal) him: objective of han

    See also

    Danish personal pronouns
    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)

    1. ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Papiamentu: ham

    Fiji Hindi

    Etymology

    Inherited from Awadhi हम (ham), Bhojpuri हम (ham).

    Pronoun

    ham

    1. I (1st person singular personal pronoun)
      Ham khelegaa!
      I will play!

    Fyer

    Etymology

    Cognate with Gerka ram (water).

    Noun

    ham

    1. water

    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

    1. (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of haver

    German

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ham/

    Verb

    ham

    1. (colloquial) contraction of haben; pronunciation spelling of haben
      Wir ham grad gefrühstückt.We've just had breakfast.
      • 2017 April 25, Martin Thoma, “Zeitlos hässlich”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz[5], →ISSN:
        Außerdem ist es ein bisschen obszön und spekuliert auf Empörung: Die kleinen Leute ham kein Geld und die Mode-Fuzzis geben 2.000 Euro für einen Ikea-Beutel aus!
        It's also a bit obscene and hopes to rely on outrage: Little people got no money, and the fashion types spend 2000 euros on an Ikea bag!

    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 pronunciation section at haben.

    See also

    Irish

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [haːmˠ], [hamˠ]

    Noun

    ham m

    1. h-prothesized form of am

    Laz

    Pronoun

    ham

    1. 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)

      1. An enclosed pasture.

      References

      Etymology 2

      Noun

      ham

      1. alternative form of hamme (back of the knee)

      Etymology 3

      Pronoun

      ham

      1. alternative form of hem (them)

      Etymology 4

      Pronoun

      ham

      1. (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.

      Etymology 5

      Noun

      ham

      1. (Early Middle English, Northern) alternative form of hom (home)

      Middle French

      Noun

      ham m (plural hams)

      1. village

      Montol

      Etymology

      Cognate with Mwaghavul am (water).

      Noun

      hàm

      1. water

      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

      1. (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring) Object case of hi: him, himself
      2. (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring) Object case of hat: it, (in practice chiefly) itself
      3. (Föhr-Amrum) Object case of hat: her, herself

      Alternative forms

      See also

      Personal and possessive pronouns (Föhr-Amrum dialect)
      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 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. 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  / 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 and possessive pronouns (Mooring dialect)
      personal possessive
      subject case object case masculine
      referent
      feminine / neuter / plural
      referent
      full reduced full reduced
      singular 1st ik 'k me man min
      2nd de dan din
      3rd m hi 'r ham 'n san sin
      f '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. 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

      1. him

      See also

      Norwegian Bokmål personal pronouns
      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)

      1. skin or slough (discarded skin of certain animals)
      Derived terms

      References

      Norwegian Nynorsk

      Etymology

      Derived from Old Norse hamr.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /hɑːm/

      Noun

      ham m (definite singular hamen, indefinite plural hamar, definite plural hamane)

      1. skin or slough (discarded skin of certain animals)

      Derived terms

      References

      Old English

      Etymology 1

      Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *haim, from Proto-Germanic *haimaz.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /xɑːm/, [hɑːm]

      Noun

      hām m

      1. 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.
      2. 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...
      3. village; community
      Usage notes
      • In early Old English, the dative singular was always hām, not the expected form hāme.
      Declension

      Strong a-stem:

      Derived terms

      Adverb

      hām

      1. home, homeward
        hām gānto go home
        hām cumanto come home
        hām ċierranto turn home
        hām bringanto 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

      1. alternative form of hamm (enclosure)

      Etymology 3

      Inherited from Proto-Germanic *hammō.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]

      Noun

      ham f

      1. 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

      1. covering
      2. garment, dress, gown; shirt
      Declension

      Strong a-stem:

      Old French

      Etymology

      Borrowed from Frankish *haim (home, village).

      Noun

      ham oblique singularm (oblique plural hans, nominative singular hans, nominative plural ham)

      1. village

      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

      1. home

      Descendants

      • North Frisian: hamm
      • Saterland Frisian: Heem
      • West Frisian: hiem

      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

      1. accusative/dative singular of hamr

      Rohingya

      Noun

      ham

      1. work

      Derived terms

      • hammwa
      • kuham

      Romanian

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ham/
      • Rhymes: -am

      Etymology 1

      Borrowed from Hungarian hám.

      Noun

      ham n (plural hamuri)

      1. harness
      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!

      1. woof (the sound a barking dog makes)

      See also

      Ron

      Etymology

      Cognate with Gerka ram (water).

      Noun

      ham

      1. (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

      Borrowed from Hungarian hám.

      Noun

      hȃm m inan (Cyrillic spelling ха̑м)

      1. harness

      Sha

      Etymology

      Cognate with Gerka ram (water).

      Noun

      ham

      1. water

      References

      Tal

      Etymology

      Cognate with Mwaghavul am (water).

      Noun

      hàm

      1. water

      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

      1. water

      References

      Turkish

      Etymology

      Derived from Persian خام (xâm).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /hɑm/
      • Audio:(file)

      Adjective

      ham

      1. raw, unripe

      Upper Sorbian

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈɦam/

      Noun

      ham m inan

      1. The name of the Latin script letter H/h.

      See also

      Vietnamese

      Etymology

        Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese (SV: hám).

        Pronunciation

        Adjective

        ham • (, 𫺧, )

        1. greedy
          ham chơi(disapproving) to be obsessed with fooling around
        2. eager; keen

        Derived terms

        See also

        Vilamovian

        Alternative forms

        Etymology

        From Middle High German heim, from Old High German heim, from Proto-West Germanic *haim, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (home, village).

        Noun

        ham n

        1. home
          Synonym: haojs

        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)

        1. ham

        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

        1. 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