harm

From Middle English harm, herm, from Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm, from Proto-Germanic *harmaz (“harm; shame; pain”). Cognate with Dutch harm (“harm”), German Harm (“harm”), Swedish harm (“anger, indignation, harm”), Icelandic harmur (“sorrow, grief”).

• (General American) IPA^(key): /hɑɹm/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /hɑːm/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)m

harm (countable and uncountable, plural harms)

1. physical injury; hurt; damage

   No harm came to my possessions.

   You can do a lot of harm to someone if you kick them in the balls. Especially if they get revenge and bring out a bazooka and blast your head off.

2. emotional or figurative hurt

   Although not physically injured in the car accident, she received some psychological harm.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 4293071:

     And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.

3. detriment; misfortune.

   I wish him no harm.

4. That which causes injury, damage, or loss.
   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene i]:

     We, ignorant of ourselves, / Beg often our own harms.

• Adjectives often applied to "harm": bodily, physical, environmental, emotional, financial, serious, irreparable, potential, long-term, short-term, permanent, lasting, material, substantial.

harm (third-person singular simple present harms, present participle harming, simple past and past participle harmed)

1. To cause injury to another; to hurt; to cause damage to something.
   • 2020 December 16, Yan Ming, “Awakening Moral Conscience”, in Minghui‎:

     Will justice and conscience of society not be harmed if people avoid the truth?

• Hmar, mahr

harm

1. indefinite accusative singular of harmur

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɾˠəmˠ/

harm

1. h-prothesized form of arm

• harem, arme, herme

From Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm.

harm (plural harms)

1. harm, injury, ruination

• English: harm
• Scots: herm, hairm
• Yola: harrm

• “harm, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

harm

1. accusative singular of harmr

From Proto-Germanic *harmaz.

harm m

1. harm

• Middle Low German: harm, herm

From Old Swedish harmber, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *harmaz. Cognate with English harm.

harm c

1. angry indignation (at something considered unjust)
2. (archaic) (physical or emotional) harm

• harm in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• harm in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• harm in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)