ham

ham

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of ham in English

English Online Dictionary. What means ham‎? What does ham mean?

English

Etymology 1

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

  • (Received Pronunciation, US) enPR: hăm, IPA(key): /ˈhæm/
  • (Southern England, General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈhæːm/
  • Rhymes: -æm

Noun

ham (countable and uncountable, plural hams)

  2. (anatomy) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
  3. (countable) A thigh and buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat.
  4. (uncountable) Meat from the thigh of a hog cured for food.
  5. The back of the thigh.
  6. (Internet, informal, uncommon) Electronic mail that is wanted; mail that is not spam or junk mail.
    Antonym: spam
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Old English hām.

Noun

ham (uncountable)

  1. Obsolete form of home.

Usage notes

  • Persists in many old place names, such as Buckingham.

References

  • Douglas Harper (2001–2021), “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Etymology 3

Of uncertain origin, 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.
  • 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.
  • Shortened from hamfatter (“inferior actor”), said to derive from the 1863 minstrel show song The Ham-fat Man. 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
  2. (radio) An amateur radio operator.
    Synonym: radio amateur
Derived terms
  • ham-fisted
  • ham radio
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

  • chew the scenery, ham it up, melodramatize, overact, tear a cat

See also

  • go ham

References

Anagrams

  • HMA, MHA, Mah, mah

Afrikaans

Etymology

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/
  • Hyphenation: ham

Noun

ham (plural hamme, diminutive hammetjie)

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

Caribbean Hindustani

Etymology

Compare Hindi हम (ham, “we”).

Pronoun

ham

  1. I

References

  • Beknopt Nederland-Sarnami Woordenboek met Sarnami Hindoestani-Nederlanse Woordenlijst‎[1] (in Dutch), Paramaribo: Instituut voor Taalwetenschap, 2002

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin hamus.

Pronunciation

  • (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈam/

Noun

ham m (plural hams)

  1. fishhook

Derived terms

  • tallahams

Further reading

  • “ham” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Cebuano

Etymology

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

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

  • 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.
  • In transitive clauses with an indefinite object, ham can be used as a subject.

See also

References

  • Donald M. Topping (1973) Chamorro Reference Grammar‎[2], Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Danish

Etymology 1

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
Derived terms
  • dyreham
  • fjederham
  • fugleham
  • hamskifte, hamskifter
  • slangeham
  • snogeham
  • svaneham

Etymology 2

Older hannem, from Old Norse hǫnum, the dative of hann (“he”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɑm/, [hɑ̈m]

Pronoun

ham

  1. (personal) him: objective of han
See also

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch *hama, from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɦɑm/
  • Hyphenation: ham
  • Rhymes: -ɑm

Noun

ham f (plural hammen, diminutive hammetje n)

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

Derived terms

  • beenham
  • schouderham

Descendants

  • → Papiamentu: ham

Fiji Hindi

Etymology

From Hindi हम (ham, “we, I”).

Pronoun

ham

  1. I (1st person singular personal pronoun)

Fyer

Etymology

Related to 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

Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [haːmˠ], [hamˠ]

Noun

ham m

  1. h-prothesized form of am

Middle English

Etymology 1

Pronoun

ham

  1. Alternative form of hem (“them”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɑːm/

Noun

ham (plural hamen or hames)

  1. (Early Middle English, Northern) Alternative form of hom (“home”)

Etymology 3

Noun

ham (plural hames)

  1. Alternative form of hamme (“back of the knee”)

Etymology 4

Noun

ham (plural hames)

  1. Alternative form of hamme (“pasture”)

Middle French

Noun

ham m (plural hams)

  1. village

Montol

Etymology

Related to 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. him third-person singular, masculine, objective
  2. it third-person singular, neuter, objective

Alternative forms

  • höm (Sylt)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hann.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɑm/

Pronoun

ham

  1. him

See also

Etymology 2

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
  • hamlet
  • hamskifte

References

  • “ham” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
  • “ham_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
  • “ham_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

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

  • hamlet
  • hamskifte

References

  • “ham” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *haim

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /xɑːm/, [hɑːm]

Noun

hām m

  1. home
  2. property, estate, farm
  3. village; community

Usage notes

  • In early Old English, the dative singular was always hām, not the expected form hāme.
Declension
Derived terms
  • hāmlēas
Descendants
  • Middle English: hom
    • English: home, -ham (partially)
    • Northumbrian: hyem
    • Scots: hame
    • Yola: hime, hyme

Adverb

hām

  1. home, homeward

Etymology 2

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

From Proto-Germanic *hammō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]

Noun

ham f

  1. Alternative form of hamm (“inner knee”)

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Frankish *haim (“home, village”).

Noun

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

  1. village

Descendants

  • Walloon: hamea, amia, hamia
  • Walloon: hamtea, hametê, hamtia, amtia
  • ⇒ Old French: hamel
    • Middle French: hamel
      • French: hameau
    • Walloon: hamô
    • → Middle English: hamel
    • ⇒ Old French: hamelet, hamlet
      • Middle French: hamelet
      • → Middle English: hamelet, hamlet
        • English: hamlet
        • Early Scots: hamillet, hamlet, hamelat, hamelet

Old Frisian

Alternative forms

  • hēm

Etymology

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

Rohingya

Noun

ham

  1. work

Derived terms

  • hammwa
  • kuham

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ham/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hungarian hám.

Noun

ham n (plural hamuri)

  1. harness
Derived terms
  • înhăma

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

ham!

  1. woof, the sound a barking dog makes

See also

  • hau

Ron

Etymology

Related to 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

  • ȃm

Etymology

A loan from Hungarian hám.

Noun

hȃm m (Cyrillic spelling ха̑м)

  1. harness

Sha

Etymology

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

Noun

ham

  1. water

References

  • Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist

Tal

Etymology

Related to 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

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

Noun

ham

  1. water

References

  • Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist

Turkish

Etymology

From Persian خام‎ (xâm).

Adjective

ham

  1. raw

Vietnamese

Etymology

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [haːm˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [haːm˧˧]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [haːm˧˧]

Adjective

ham • (𫺧, 𫻎)

  1. greedy
  2. eager; keen

Derived terms

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

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