# ham
## English
### Etymology 1

Inherited 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 and gam.

#### Pronunciation

* enPR: hăm, IPA: /ˈhæm/
* (Southern England, General Australian) IPA: /ˈhæːm/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (UK):(file)
* Rhymes: -æm

#### Noun

ham (countable and uncountable, plural hams)
* (anatomy) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
* (countable) A thigh and buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat.
** 1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 165:"I'll have you so your hams will stand out like horse's shanks!" de declared.
* (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.
* The back of the thigh.
* (Internet, informal, uncommon) Electronic mail that is wanted; mail that is not spam or junk mail.
    Synonym: ham e-mail
    Antonym: spam

##### Derived terms

* Admiralty ham
* Bayonne ham
* Black Forest ham
* butter-ham
* Christmas ham
* country ham
* deviled ham
* devilled ham
* dressmaker's ham
* Gourock ham
* ham and beef shop
* ham-and-egger
* ham and eggs
* hambone
* ham chin peng
* ham e-mail
* ham-fisted
* ham-fistedly
* ham-handed
* ham-handedly
* ham-handedness
* ham hands
* ham hock
* hammy
* hamplanet
* ham salad
* ham sandwich
* ham-sandwich
* ham sandwich theorem
* ham shank
* ham steak
* hamstring
* ham up
* Jinhua ham
* Limerick ham
* mutton ham
* Parma ham
* pressed ham
* Smithfield ham
* Spam
* Spanish ham
* stuffed ham
* tailor's ham
* Taylor ham
* turkey ham
* Westphalian ham
* York ham

##### 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

Derived from Old English hām.

#### Noun

ham (uncountable)
* Obsolete form of home.

##### Usage notes

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

#### References

* Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### 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.
* 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)
* (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, →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.”
* (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)
* (acting) To overact; to act with exaggerated emotions.
    Synonyms: chew the scenery, ham it up, melodramatize, overact, tear a cat

##### Translations
### See also

* go ham

### References

* ↑ Hendrickson, Robert (1997) The Facts on File encyclopedia of word and phrase origins, New York: Facts on File, →ISBN
* ↑ Morris, William (1988) Morris dictionary of word and phrase origins, New York: Harper & Row, →ISBN
* ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “ham”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### Anagrams

* HMA, MHA, Mah, mah

## 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: /ɦam/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: ham
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

ham (plural hamme, diminutive hammetjie)
* ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)

## Caribbean Hindustani
### Etymology

Cognate with Hindi हम (ham, “we”).

### Pronoun

ham
* I

#### References

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

## Catalan
### Etymology

Derived from Latin hamus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈam]

### Noun

ham m (plural hams)
* fishhook

#### Derived terms

* tallahams

### Further reading

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

## 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
* 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: /hæm/

### Pronoun

ham
* 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.
    I lahi ha sangani ham. ― The man told us.
* In transitive clauses with an indefinite object, ham can be used as a subject.

### References

* Donald M. Topping (1973) Chamorro Reference Grammar‎, 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

* Cantonese (Jyutping): hem$^1$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: hem$^1$
*** Cantonese Pinyin: hem$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: hém$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /hɛːm⁵⁵/

### Verb

ham
* (Hong Kong Cantonese, slang, euphemistic) to die
** 2016 August 22, 郭富城 [Aaron Kwok], quotee, “隨時有驚喜！郭富城爆智能舞台未玩盡”, in 東網 [on.cc]‎:
       zoi$^3$ gwo$^3$ 26 zau$^1$ nin$^4$, hou$^2$ waa$^6$ m$^4$ hou$^2$ teng$^1$, ho$^2$ nang$^4$ ngo$^5$ dou$^1$ ‘hem$^1$’ zo$^2$, ni$^1$ gei$^2$ nin$^4$ hou$^2$ do$^1$ zung$^6$ jiu$^3$ ge$^3$ jan$^4$ waak$^6$ ze$^2$ jin$^2$ coeng$^3$ wui$^{6-2}$ ge$^3$ pang$^4$ jau$^5$ lei$^4$ hoi$^1$ zo$^2$, ngo$^5$ zung$^6$ ho$^2$ ji$^5$ kei$^5$ hai$^2$ toi$^4$ dou$^6$ tung$^4$ daai$^6$ gaa$^1$ biu$^2$ jin$^2$, hai$^6$ zik$^6$ dak$^1$ ge$^3$. [Jyutping]
       (please add an English translation of this quotation)

#### Synonyms

| Variety | Location | Words |
| Classical Chinese | Classical Chinese | 死, 亡, 歿, 卒 |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 死, 死亡, 亡故, 喪生, 喪命, 去世 †, 過世 †, 逝世 †, 離世 †, 下世 †, 不在 †, 過去 †, 仙逝 †, 歸天 †, 歸西 †, 升天 †, 作古 †, 長眠 †, 閉眼 †, 故去 †, ‡, 故世 †, ‡, 一命嗚呼, 謝世, 離開人間 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Beijing | 死, 撂, 撂條, 故去 †, 吹燈 †, 吹燈拔蠟 †, 吹臺 †, 老 †, ‡, 踹腿 ¤, 踹腿兒 ¤, 踹 ¤, 回姥姥家 ¤, 彎回去 †, 毛兒提 Hui |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 死, 過世 † |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Harbin | 死, 老 †, ‡, 伸腿兒 ¤, 伸腿 ¤, 蹬腿兒 ¤, 奔兒咕 ¤, 桿兒屁 §, 桿兒細 §, 吹燈拔蠟 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Singapore | 死, 死掉, 死翹翹, 過世 †, 去世 †, 上天堂 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 † |
| Jilu Mandarin | Jinan | 死, 歿, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 不在 †, ‡, 王八 §, 完蛋, 完錢, 完活, 無常 Hui, 歸主 Hui, 歸真 Hui |
| Jiaoliao Mandarin | Yantai (Muping) | 死, 老 †, ‡, 上西天 § |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Luoyang | 死, 過去, 過世, 下世, 亡故, 不在, 升天, 去世 †, 老 †, ‡, 擱那兒 ¤ |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Wanrong | 死, 歿, 老 †, ‡ |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Xi'an | 死, 不在 †, 老 †, ‡, 無常 Hui |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Xining | 歿 |
| Lanyin Mandarin | Yinchuan | 死, 走 †, 歿 Hui, 歸真 Hui, 冒提 Hui, 口喚 Hui, 無常 Hui, 完 Hui |
| Lanyin Mandarin | Lanzhou | 死, 過世 †, 緩下 †, 躺下 † |
| Lanyin Mandarin | Ürümqi | 死, 過世 †, 不在 † |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Chengdu | 死, 過去 †, 不在 †, 去 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 撬桿兒 §, 撬桿 §, 翹辮子 §, 見馬克思, 歸天, 去陰國, 爬高煙囪, 落氣, 冰凊, 沒脈 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Wuhan | 死, 過身 †, 去 †, 老 †, ‡, 去回 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 瓜碼子 ¤, 瓜 ¤, 西皮 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Guiyang | 死, 過世 †, 成神 †, ‡, 百年歸天 †, ‡, 嗚呼 ¤ |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Guilin | 死 |
| Southwestern Mandarin | Liuzhou | 死, 沒得脈, 過世 †, 過身 †, 沒在 †, 哦嚄 |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Nanjing | 死, 過世 †, 歸天 †, ‡, 不在 †, 嗝兒得 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤ |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Yangzhou | 死, 不在 †, 走 †, 家去吃去 ¤, 家去 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 駝條 § |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Hefei | 死, 不在 †, 老 † |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 死, 過身 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 百年歸老 †, ‡, 去別有天 †, ¤, 去大煙筒 †, ¤, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 收檔 ¤, 攞竇 ¤, 進竇 §, 瓜竇, 直, 瓜直, 死直, 攤直, 雙腳撐直, 伸直腳, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 褸席, 歸西, 歸天, 食黃泥, 入黃泥窿, 入窿, 玩完, 嫌米貴, 瞇埋眼, 一 argot, 唔食廣東米 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 死, 過身 †, 走 †, 香 †, 去 †, 唔喺度 †, 百年歸老 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 †, 兩腳一伸 †, 仙遊 †, 拜拜 †, 去閻羅王處報到 †, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 釘蓋, 釘, 直, 歸西, 玩完, ham |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou) | 過身 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou) | 過身 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (Ting Kok) | 過身, 死 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau) | 過身 |
| Cantonese | Macau | 過身, 去 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Panyu) | 過身, 死 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) | 死 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Conghua) | 過身, 死 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou (Zengcheng) | 去歸, 過身 |
| Cantonese | Foshan | 過身, 死 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) | 死, 過身 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Shunde) | 過身 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Sanshui) | 過身 |
| Cantonese | Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) | 死 |
| Cantonese | Zhongshan (Shiqi) | 過身 |
| Cantonese | Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou) | 死 |
| Cantonese | Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka) | 過身, 死 |
| Cantonese | Zhuhai (Doumen) | 死, 過身 |
| Cantonese | Jiangmen (Baisha) | 過身, 死 |
| Cantonese | Jiangmen (Xinhui) | 死, 過身 |
| Cantonese | Taishan | 死, 善, 去 |
| Cantonese | Kaiping (Chikan) | 死, 登仙 |
| Cantonese | Enping (Niujiang) | 過身, 死 |
| Cantonese | Heshan (Yayao) | 死 |
| Cantonese | Dongguan | 死, 老 †, 去返 †, 去舊時嗰處 †, 視埋眼 †, 伸直腳 †, 入罌 †, 拉柴 §, 去大煙筒 § |
| Cantonese | Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) | 死, 過身 |
| Cantonese | Yangjiang | 死, 過輩 †, 老 †, ‡, 老大 †, ‡ |
| Cantonese | Singapore (Guangfu) | 死, 過身 † |
| Gan | Nanchang | 死, 過世 †, 老 † |
| Gan | Lichuan | 死 |
| Gan | Pingxiang | 死, 過 †, 走路 †, 老 †, ‡, 去 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 死, 老, 過身 †, 消 †, 老壽 †, ‡ |
| Hakka | Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua) | 過身, 香 † |
| Hakka | Dongguan (Qingxi) | 過身, 死 |
| Hakka | Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) | 死, 過身 |
| Hakka | Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) | 死 |
| Hakka | Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua) | 死, 過身 |
| Hakka | Yudu | 死, 過世 †, 過套 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †, 轉該背 †, 歸仙 †, 轉老外婆裡 ¤ |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † |
| Hakka | Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † |
| Hakka | Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 死, 消, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † |
| Hakka | Miaoli (Zhuolan; Raoping) | 消 |
| Hakka | Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 死, 過身 †, 上神桌 †, 轉長山賣鴨卵 † |
| Hakka | Hong Kong | 過身, 老 |
| Huizhou | Jixi | 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過身 †, 不在 †, 過老 §, 過邊 §, 進棺材 §, 進風水 §, 翹扁 §, ¤ |
| Jin | Taiyuan | 死, 沒啦 †, 走 †, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 老客 †, ‡ |
| Jin | Xinzhou | 死, 回老家 †, 硬 §, 㞗朝天 of a man, vulgar, 倒蕎麥皮 |
| Northern Min | Jian'ou | 死, 過身 †, 老 †, ‡ |
| Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 死, 過去 †, 過世 †, 過後 †, 歸西 †, 百歲 †, 老去 †, ‡, 堯街去 ¤, 堯生去 ¤, 溜翹 ¤, 殂 ¤, 去算米數 ¤, 去外媽食齋 ¤, 去外媽 ¤, 去䁐廬山 ¤, 去厝去 ¤, 睏長暝眠 ¤, 翹齋 ¤, 揭兜去 ¤, 拔直去 ¤, 上天去 ¤, 生去 ¤, 𣪟去 ¤, 䁐松柏樹 ¤, 䁐松柏 ¤, 轉祖 § |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 百歲年老 †, 行去 †, 無去 †, 㾀 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 § |
| Southern Min | Quanzhou | 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 無去 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 § |
| Southern Min | Yongchun | 死, 過身 †, 老去 † |
| Southern Min | Zhangzhou | 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 百歲年老 †, 行去 †, 無去 †, 起身 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 誆牽 §, 㾀 §, 㾀歹 §, 馬滴 § |
| Southern Min | Taipei | 死去, 老 †, 過身 † |
| Southern Min | New Taipei (Sanxia) | 死去, 老去 †, 往生 †, 過身 † |
| Southern Min | Kaohsiung | 死去, 老去 †, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 † |
| Southern Min | Yilan | 死去, 老去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 過往 † |
| Southern Min | Changhua (Lukang) | 死去, 老 †, 無去 †, 過身 †, 轉去 † |
| Southern Min | Taichung | 死去, 往生 †, 過身 † |
| Southern Min | Tainan | 死去, 老去 †, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †, 去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 去蘇州賣鴨卵 †, 轉去塗州賣鴨卵 †, 轉去蘇州賣鴨卵 † |
| Southern Min | Hsinchu | 曲去, 去咯 †, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 † |
| Southern Min | Kinmen | 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 行去 † |
| Southern Min | Penghu (Magong) | 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 † |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hokkien) | 死, 馬滴, 死翹翹, 過身 †, 百年 †, 百歲 †, 過氣 †, 起車 †, 老去 †, 老咯 †, 行去 †, 蟯去 †, 吭跤翹 †, 交登記 † |
| Southern Min | Manila (Hokkien) | 死, 死去, 過面 †, 過身 †, 老去 † |
| Southern Min | Chaozhou | 死, 過身 †, 過世 † |
| Southern Min | Jieyang | 過身, 吭跤翹, 吭翹 |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Teochew) | 死, 過身 |
| Southern Min | Leizhou | 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過目焗 ¤, 直筒 §, 刮薯減米 § |
| Southern Min | Haikou | 死, 過層 †, ‡, 老 †, ‡, 貓使 § |
| Southern Min | Singapore (Hainanese) | 死 |
| Zhongshan Min | Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) | 死 |
| Southern Pinghua | Nanning (Tingzi) | 死, 瓜老襯, 過世, 歸西 |
| Wu | Shanghai | 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 一腳去 †, 翹辮子 §, ¤, 彈老三 §, 翹老三 § |
| Wu | Shanghai (Chongming) | 死, 老 †, 故 †, 翹辮子 ¤ |
| Wu | Suzhou | 死, 壞, 去, 過世 †, 翹辮子 § |
| Wu | Danyang | 死 |
| Wu | Hangzhou | 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 翹辮兒 ¤, 到龍駒塢去 |
| Wu | Ningbo | 死, 翹辮子 §, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 死脫 §, 燂茶, 山裡去, 吃豆腐羹, 嘸沒來的 †, 老 † |
| Wu | Wenzhou | 死, 冇 †, 過輩 †, ‡, 蹻 ¤ |
| Wu | Jinhua | 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 弗在 †, 老 †, ‡ |
| Xiang | Changsha | 死, 過 †, 去 †, 瓜, 彈, 彈四郎 |
| Xiang | Loudi | 死, 過世 †, 故 †, 上岸 † |
| Xiang | Shuangfeng | 死, 過世 †, 故 † |
| Xiang | Hengyang | 死 |
| Note | † - euphemistic; ‡ - usually of the elderly; ¤ - humorous; § - derogatory/disrespectful | † - euphemistic; ‡ - usually of the elderly; ¤ - humorous; § - derogatory/disrespectful |

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈɦam]
* Hyphenation: ham

### Interjection

ham
* nom (indicating the action of eating)

#### Derived terms

* hamat

### Further reading

* “ham”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “ham”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
* “ham”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## Danish
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Norse hamr, Proto-Germanic *hamaz, *hamô.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈhɑmˀ/, [ˈhɑ̈mˀ]

#### Noun

ham c (singular definite hammen, plural indefinite hamme)
* slough, skin

##### Derived terms

* dyreham
* fjederham
* fugleham
* hamskifte
* hamskifter
* slangeham
* snogeham
* svaneham

### Etymology 2

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hɑm/, [hɑ̈m]

#### Pronoun

ham
* (personal) him: objective of han

#### See also

| Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | Possessive | Possessive | Possessive |
| Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | common | neuter | plural |
| Singular | First | – | jeg | mig | min | mit | mine |
| Singular | Second | modern / informal | du | dig | din | dit | dine |
| Singular | Second | formal (uncommon) | De | Dem | Deres | Deres | Deres |
| Singular | Third | masculine (person) | han | ham | hans | hans | hans |
| Singular | Third | feminine (person) | hun | hende | hendes | hendes | hendes |
| Singular | Third | common (noun) | den | den | dens | dens | dens |
| Singular | Third | neuter (noun) | det | det | dets | dets | dets |
| Singular | Third | indefinite | man | en | ens | ens | ens |
| Singular | Third | reflexive | – | sig | sin | sit | sine |
| Plural | First | modern | vi | os | vores | vores | vores |
| Plural | First | archaic / formal | vi | os | vor | vort | vore |
| Plural | Second | – | I | jer | jeres | jeres | jeres |
| Plural | Third | – | de | dem | deres | deres | deres |
| Plural | Third | reflexive | – | sig | deres | deres | deres |

## Dutch
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɦɑm/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: ham
* Rhymes: -ɑm
* Homophone: Ham

### Noun

ham f (plural hammen, diminutive hammetje n)
* ham (cured pork from the thigh of a swine)

#### Derived terms

* beenham
* hamvraag
* schouderham

#### Descendants

* → Papiamentu: ham

## Fiji Hindi
### Etymology

Derived from Hindi हम (ham, “we, I”).

### Pronoun

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

## Fyer
### Etymology

Cognate with Gerka ram (“water”).

### Noun

ham
* 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
* (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of haver

## German
### Etymology

A pronunciation spelling of haben.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ham/

### Verb

ham
* (colloquial) Contraction of haben
    Wir ham grad gefrühstückt. ― We've just had breakfast.

#### 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 note at haben.

#### See also

* hamse
* haste

## Irish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [haːmˠ], [hamˠ]

### Noun

ham m
* h-prothesized form of am

## Laz
### Pronoun

ham
* 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

* hamme

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ham/

#### Noun

ham (plural hammes)
* An enclosed pasture.

#### References

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

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

ham (plural hames)
* Alternative form of hamme (“back of the knee”)

### Etymology 3
#### Pronoun

ham
* Alternative form of hem (“them”)

### Etymology 4

Inherited from Old English heom

#### Pronoun

ham
* (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
#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hɑːm/

#### Noun

ham (plural hamen or hames)
* (Early Middle English, Northern) Alternative form of hom (“home”)

## Middle French
### Noun

ham m (plural hams)
* village

## Montol
### Etymology

Cognate with Mwaghavul am (“water”).

### Noun

hàm
* 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
* (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring) Object case of hi: him, himself
* (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring) Object case of hat: it, (in practice chiefly) itself
* (Föhr-Amrum) Object case of hat: her, herself

#### Alternative forms

* (him): 'n (reduced form), höm (Sylt)
* (it): at, et, 't (reduced forms), höm (Sylt)
* (her): 't (reduced form), har (Mooring), höör (Sylt)

### See also

* The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü 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 jü / 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.
The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü 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: /hɑm/

#### Pronoun

ham
* him

#### See also

| Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | Possessive | Possessive | Possessive | Possessive |
| Number | Person | Type | Nominative | Oblique | feminine | masculine | neuter | plural |
| Singular | First | – | jeg | meg | mi | min | mitt | mine |
| Singular | Second | general | du | deg | di | din | ditt | dine |
| Singular | Second | formal (rare) | De | Dem | Deres | Deres | Deres | Deres |
| Singular | Third | feminine (person) | hun | henne | hennes | hennes | hennes | hennes |
| Singular | Third | masculine (person) | han | ham / han | hans | hans | hans | hans |
| Singular | Third | feminine (noun) | den | den | dens | dens | dens | dens |
| Singular | Third | masculine (noun) | den | den | dens | dens | dens | dens |
| Singular | Third | neuter (noun) | det | det | dets | dets | dets | dets |
| Singular | Third | reflexive | – | seg | si | sin | sitt | sine |
| Plural | First | – | vi | oss | vår | vår | vårt | våre |
| Plural | Second | general | dere | dere | deres | deres | deres | deres |
| Plural | Second | formal (very rare) | De | Dem | Deres | Deres | Deres | Deres |
| Plural | Third | general | de | dem | deres | deres | deres | deres |
| Plural | Third | reflexive | – | seg | si | sin | sitt | sine |

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Norse hamr.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hɑːm/

#### Noun

ham m (definite singular hammen, indefinite plural hammer, definite plural hammene)
* skin or slough (discarded skin of certain animals)

##### Derived terms

* hamlet
* hamskifte

#### References

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

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

Derived from Old Norse hamr.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hɑːm/

### Noun

ham m (definite singular hamen, indefinite plural hamar, definite plural hamane)
* skin or slough (discarded skin of certain animals)

#### Derived terms

* hamlet
* hamskifte

### References

* “ham” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old English
### Etymology 1

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /xɑːm/, [hɑːm]

#### Noun

hām m
* 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.
* 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...
* 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

* hāmlēas

#### Adverb

hām
* home, homeward
    hām gān ― to go home
    hām cuman ― to come home
    hām ċierran ― to turn home
    hām bringan ― to bring home

#### Descendants

* Middle English: hom, hoom, home, hoome, whom, om, am, hame (Northern), ham (Early Middle English)
** English: home, -ham (partially)
** Geordie English: hyem
** Scots: hame
** Yola: hime, hyme, haime

### Etymology 2

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /xɑm/, [hɑm]

#### Noun

ham m
* Alternative form of hamm (“enclosure”)

### Etymology 3

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *hammō.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /xɑm/, [hɑm]

#### Noun

ham f
* 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: /xɑm/, [hɑm]

#### Noun

ham m
* covering
* garment, dress, gown; shirt

##### Declension

Strong a-stem:

##### Related terms

* hama

## Old French
### Etymology

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

### Noun

ham oblique singular, m (oblique plural hans, nominative singular hans, nominative plural ham)
* 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
**** Early Scots: hamillet, hamlet, hamelat, hamelet
**** English: hamlet

## Old Frisian
### Alternative forms

* hēm

### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈhaːm/

### Noun

hām m
* 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
* accusative/dative singular of hamr

## Rohingya
### Noun

ham
* work

#### Derived terms

* hammwa
* kuham

## Romanian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ham/
* Rhymes: -am

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hungarian hám.

#### Noun

ham n (plural hamuri)
* harness

##### Derived terms

* înhăma

### Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

#### Interjection

ham!
* woof (the sound a barking dog makes)

#### See also

* hau

## Ron
### Etymology

Cognate with Gerka ram (“water”).

### Noun

ham
* (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

Borrowed from Hungarian hám.

### Noun

hȃm m (Cyrillic spelling ха̑м)
* harness

## Sha
### Etymology

Cognate with Gerka ram (“water”).

### Noun

ham
* water

### References

* Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist

## Tal
### Etymology

Cognate with Mwaghavul am (“water”).

### Noun

hàm
* 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
* water

### References

* Roger Blench, Ron Comparative Wordlist

## Turkish
### Etymology

Derived from Persian خام (xâm).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hɑm/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

ham
* raw, unripe

## Vietnamese
### Etymology

* This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Related to tham? The shift of aspirated stops to /h/ is attested, but only in certain very frequently used words, which I don't think "to be greedy" can be considered one of.”

### Pronunciation

* (Hà Nội) IPA: [haːm˧˧]
* (Huế) IPA: [haːm˧˧]
* (Saigon) IPA: [haːm˧˧]

### Adjective

ham • (𫺧, 𫻎)
* greedy
    ham chơi(disapproving) to be obsessed with fooling around
* eager; keen

#### Derived terms

* ham hố (từ láy)
* ham muốn

### See also

* mải

## 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)
* ham

### Further reading

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

## Yola
### Alternative forms

* him, em

### Etymology

From Middle English him, hem, from Old English him.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /heːm/, /hɪm/, /ɛm/
* Homophone: haime

### Pronoun

ham
* him
** 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:Ich drowe ham.I throw him.

#### Derived terms

* w'eeme

### 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