seem

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

English

Alternative forms

• seme (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English semen (“to seem, befit, be becoming”), from Old Norse sœma (“to conform to, beseem, befit”), from Proto-Germanic *sōmijaną (“to unite, fit”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; whole”). Cognate with Scots seme (“to be fitting; beseem”), Danish sømme (“to beseem”), Old Swedish søma, Faroese søma (“to be proper”). Related also to Old Norse sómi (“honour”) ( > archaic Danish somme (“decent comportment”)), Old Norse sœmr (“fitting, seemly”), Old English sēman (“to reconcile, bring an agreement”), Old English sōm (“agreement”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siːm/
• Rhymes: -iːm
• Homophones: seam, seme

Verb

seem (third-person singular simple present seems, present participle seeming, simple past and past participle seemed)

1. (copulative) To appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as.
   • 1813 (14^thc.), Dante Alighieri, The Vision of Hell as translated by The Rev. H. F. Cary.

     He, from his face removing the gross air, / Oft his left hand forth stretch'd, and seem'd alone / By that annoyance wearied.
2. (obsolete) To befit; to beseem.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

• can't seem
• meseems
• seeming
• seemingly
• seemly
• seemlihood
• seemliness

Translations

Anagrams

• Mees, Esmé, Esme, smee, mese, Smee, emes, semé, seme

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch sēm, from Proto-Germanic *saimaz.

Noun

sêem m

1. honey

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: zeem
• West Flemish: zêem

Further reading

• “seem”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “seem”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Middle English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛːm/
• Rhymes: -ɛːm

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English sēam (“seam”), from Proto-West Germanic *saum, from Proto-Germanic *saumaz. The "nail" sense is a semantic loan from Old Norse saumr.

Alternative forms

• ceem, ceme, sem, seme, seyme

Noun

seem (plural semes)

1. (sewing) A seam (in fabric).
2. A depression or indentation:
   1. A furrow or trench; a depression in the ground.
   2. A seam (scar or cicatrix).
   3. A seam (suture or stitching).
   4. (anatomy) A bodily depression or furrow.
3. (construction) Clinching nails.

Related terms

• semestere

Descendants

• English: seam
• Scots: seam

References

• “sēm(e, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “sēm(e, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old English sēam, from Proto-West Germanic *saum (“load”), from Late Latin sauma, from Latin sagma, from Ancient Greek σάγμα (ságma).

Alternative forms

• ceme, sem, seme
• sæm (Early Middle English)

Noun

seem (plural semes)

1. A load for a pack-horse.
2. A seam (unit of weight or volume)

Related terms

• semen

Descendants

• English: seam (historical)

References

• “sēm(e, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.