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”). 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.

• enPR: hăm, IPA^(key): /ˈhæm/
• (Southern England, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈhæːm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm

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 buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat.
3. (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.

4. The back of the thigh.
5. (Internet, informal, uncommon) Electronic mail that is wanted; mail that is not spam or junk mail.

   Synonym: ham e-mail

   Antonym: spam

From Old English hām.

ham (uncountable)

1. Obsolete form of home.

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

• Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

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.

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

• ham-fisted
• ham radio

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.

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

• go ham

• HMA, MHA, Mah, mah

From Dutch ham, from Middle Dutch hamme, from Old Dutch [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *hammō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”).

• IPA^(key): /ɦam/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ham

• Audio

  (file)

ham (plural hamme, diminutive hammetjie)

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

Compare Hindi हम (ham, “we”).

ham

1. I

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

From Latin hamus.

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

ham m (plural hams)

1. fishhook

• tallahams

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

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”).

ham

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

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kami, from Proto-Austronesian *kami. Cognates include Indonesian kami and Tagalog kami.

• IPA^(key): /hæm/

ham

1. we, us (exclusive)

• 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.

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

From Old Norse hamr, Proto-Germanic *hamaz, *hamô.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɑmˀ/, [ˈhɑ̈mˀ]

ham c (singular definite hammen, plural indefinite hamme)

1. slough, skin

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

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

• IPA^(key): /hɑm/, [hɑ̈m]

ham

1. (personal) him: objective of han

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

• IPA^(key): /ɦɑm/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ham
• Rhymes: -ɑm
• Homophone: Ham

ham f (plural hammen, diminutive hammetje n)

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

• beenham
• schouderham
• hamvraag

• → Papiamentu: ham

From Hindi हम (ham, “we, I”).

ham

1. I (1st person singular personal pronoun)

   Ham khelegaa!

   I will play!

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

ham

1. water

• 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

A pronunciation spelling of haben.

• IPA^(key): /ham/

ham

1. (colloquial) Contraction of haben

   Wir ham grad gefrühstückt. ― We've just had breakfast.

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.

• IPA^(key): [haːmˠ], [hamˠ]

ham m

1. h-prothesized form of am

ham

1. Latin spelling of ჰამ (ham)

Inherited from Old English ham, hamm (“enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *hamm, from Proto-Germanic *hammaz.

• hamme

• IPA^(key): /ham/

ham (plural hammes)

1. An enclosed pasture.

• “hamme, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-04-04.

ham (plural hames)

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

ham

1. Alternative form of hem (“them”)

• IPA^(key): /hɑːm/

ham (plural hamen or hames)

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

ham m (plural hams)

1. village

Related to Mwaghavul am (“water”).

hàm

1. water

• 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], […]

ham

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

• höm (Sylt)

From Old Norse hann.

• IPA^(key): /hɑm/

ham

1. him

From Old Norse hamr.

• IPA^(key): /hɑːm/

ham m (definite singular hammen, indefinite plural hammer, definite plural hammene)

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

• hamlet
• hamskifte

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

From Old Norse hamr.

• IPA^(key): /hɑːm/

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

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

• hamlet
• hamskifte

• “ham” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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

• IPA^(key): /xɑːm/, [hɑːm]

hām m

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

• In early Old English, the dative singular was always hām, not the expected form hāme.

• hāmlēas

hām

1. home, homeward

   hām gān ― to go home

   hām cuman ― to come home

   hām ċierran ― to turn home

   hām bringan ― to bring home

• Middle English: hom, hoom, home, hoome, whom, om, am; hame; ham
  • English: home, -ham (partially)
  • Northumbrian: hyem
  • Scots: hame
  • Yola: hime, hyme, haime

From Proto-Germanic *hammaz. Cognate with Old Frisian ham, Middle Low German hamme (Low Low German Hamm).

• IPA^(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]

ham m

1. Alternative form of hamm (“enclosure”)

From Proto-Germanic *hammō.

• IPA^(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]

ham f

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

From Proto-West Germanic *ham, from Proto-Germanic *hamaz (“covering”). Cognate with Old Norse hamr.

• IPA^(key): /xɑm/, [hɑm]

ham m

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

• hama

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

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

1. village

• 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

• hēm

From Proto-West Germanic *haim. Cognates include Old English hām and Old Saxon hēm.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaːm/

hām m

1. home

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

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 28

ham

1. accusative/dative singular of hamr

ham

1. work

• hammwa
• kuham

• IPA^(key): /ham/
• Rhymes: -am

Borrowed from Hungarian hám.

ham n (plural hamuri)

1. harness

• înhăma

Onomatopoeic.

ham!

1. woof, the sound a barking dog makes

• hau

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

ham

1. (most dialects, including Mangar, Bokkos, Daffo-Butura, Shagawu) water

• àyîn (Monguna)

• 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 […]

• ȃm

A loan from Hungarian hám.

hȃm m (Cyrillic spelling ха̑м)

1. harness

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

ham

1. water

• Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist

Related to Mwaghavul am (“water”).

hàm

1. water

• 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], […]

Related to Gerka ram (“water”).

ham

1. water

• Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist

From Persian خام‎ (xâm).

• IPA^(key): /hɑm/

ham

1. raw

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

ham • (𫺧, 𫻎)

1. greedy

   ham chơi

   (disapproving) to be obsessed with fooling around

2. eager; keen

• mải

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hammō. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

ham c (plural hammen, diminutive hamke)

1. ham

• “ham (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

• him, em

From Middle English him, from Old English him.

ham

1. him
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:

     Ich drowe ham.

     I throw him.

• w'eeme

• 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