The typographic em is named after the metal type for the capital M in early printing, whose body was square (the printed letter M is almost never one em in width).
Pronunciation
enPR: ĕm, IPA(key): /ɛm/
Rhymes: -ɛm
Noun
em (pluralems)
The name of the Latin-script letter M.
(typography) A unit of measurement equal to the height of the type in use.
Synonyms:quad, em quad, mutton, mut
Derived terms
emcee
em dash
em space
em quad
Translations
See also
(Latin-script letter names)letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee / zed
Etymology 2
Determiner
em
Alternative form of 'em
Etymology 3
Coined by Christine M. Elverson by removing the "th" from them, perhaps influenced by the pre-existing em/'em, now often perceived as apheretic forms of them (though originally unrelated).
(rare)A gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, the objective case of ey, equivalent to the singular them and coordinate with him and her.
Synonyms
see Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns
Derived terms
emself
Etymology 4
Compare um.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɛ(ː)m/
Interjection
em
(Scotland, Ireland) a form of hesitant speech, or an expression of uncertainty; um; umm; erm
She was going to, em... the salon, I think.
Anagrams
-me-, M&E, ME, Me, Me., me
Catalan
Etymology
From Latinmē, from Proto-Indo-European*(e)me-.
Pronoun
em (proclitic, contractedm', encliticme, contracted enclitic'm)
me (direct or indirect object)
Declension
Related terms
me
mi
jo
Czech
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ˈɛm]
Noun
emn
The name of the Latin-script letter M.
Further reading
em in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
em in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
Kurdish
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -em
Pronoun
em (obliqueme)
we; us (first-person plural personal pronoun)
Latin
Pronunciation
(Classical) IPA(key): /em/, [ɛ̃ˑ]
(Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /em/, [ɛm]
Etymology 1
Noun
emf (indeclinable)
The name of the letter M.
Usage notes
Multiple Latin names for the letter M, m have been suggested. The most common is em or a syllabicm, although there is some evidence which also supports, as names for the letter, mē, əm, mə, and even (in the fourth- or fifth-century first Antinoë papyrus, which gives Greek transliterations of the Latin names of the Roman alphabet’s letters) ιμμε(imme).
Coordinate terms
(Latin-script letter names)littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta
Etymology 2
Interjection
em
of wonder or emphasis, there!
References
em in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
em in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
em in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[4], London: Macmillan and Co.
Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), especially pages 30–31, 42–44, and 63
Latvian
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ɛm]
Noun
emm (invariable)
The Latvian name of the Latin script letter M/m.
See also
Latvian letter names:
a (A), garais ā (Ā), bē (B), cē (C), čē (Č), dē (D), e (E), garais ē (Ē), ef (F), gā (G), ģē (Ģ), hā (H), i (I), garais ī (Ī), jē (J), kā (K), ķē (Ķ), el (L), eļ (Ļ), em (M), en (N), eņ (Ņ), o (O), pē (P), er (R), es (S), eš (Š), tē (T), u (U), garais ū (Ū), vē (V), zē (Z), žē (Ž)
Luxembourgish
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /em/, [əm]
Pronoun
em
Reduced form of him
Declension
Marshallese
Pronunciation
(phonetic) IPA(key): [ɛmʲ]
(phonemic) IPA(key): /jɛmʲ/
Bender phonemes: {yem}
Alternative forms
im
-m
Conjunction
em
and
References
Marshallese–English Online Dictionary
Middle English
Pronoun
em
Alternative form of hem
References
“hem, (pron.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 June 2018.
Old Frisian
Noun
ēmm
an uncle, mother's brother
Inflection
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic*immi("am"; a form of the verb *wesaną(“to be; dwell”)), from Proto-Indo-European*h₁ésmi(“I am, I exist”). Cognate with Englisham, Gothic𐌹𐌼(im, “am”), Latinsum(“am”), Ancient Greekεἰμί(eimí), Albanianjam(“I am”), Sanskritअस्मि(ásmi), Latvianesmu(“(I) am”), esam(“we are”).
Verb
em
I am, first-person of vera (meaning "to be")
Derived terms
emk
Portuguese
Etymology
From Old Portugueseen, from Latinin(“in”), from Proto-Italic*en, from Proto-Indo-European*h₁én(“in”). Doublet of in.
Pronunciation
(Portugal) IPA(key): /ɐ̃j̃/
Homophone: hem
(Brazil) IPA(key): /ẽj̃/, /ĩ/
Homophone: hein
Preposition
em
in; inside; within(contained by)
on; on top of(located just above the surface of)
2003, J. K. Rowling, Lya Wyler, Harry Potter e a Ordem da Fênix, Rocco, page 417:
Então o sorriso reapareceu em seu rosto [...]
Then the smile reappeared on his face [...]
in; at(located in a location)
in(part of; a member of)
in; into; inside(towards the inside of)
indicates the target of an action
in(pertaining to the particular thing)
in(immediately after a period of time)
in; during(within a period of time)
at; in(in a state of)
in(indicates means, medium, format, genre or instrumentality)
in(indicates a language, script, tone etc. of writing, speaking etc.)
in(wearing)
(slang)indicates that the object deserves a given punishment
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:em.
Synonyms
(inside):dentro de
(on):sobre, em cima de
(part of):parte de
(into):para dentro de
(immediately after):logo depois/após
(during):consoante, durante
(wearing):de, vestido de, vestindo
Usage notes
When followed by an article, a pronoun, a demonstrative pronoun or adjective, em is combined with the next word to give the following combined forms:
Scots
Verb
em
(South Scots)emphatic first-person singular simple present of ti be
See also
er
es
im
Swedish
Alternative forms
em.
e.m.
e. m.
Noun
em
pm (indicating hours in the afternoon); Abbreviation of eftermiddagen.
Usage notes
Since the 1960s, Sweden primarily uses the 24 hour clock, making am/pm abbreviations unnecessary and less common
Antonyms
fm
Tok Pisin
Etymology
From Englishhim.
Pronoun
em
The third person singular pronoun refers to a person or thing other than the speaker or the person being spoken to. Pronouns in Tok Pisin are not inflected for different cases.
Derived terms
em tasol
Related terms
-im
See also
Torres Strait Creole
Etymology
From Englishhim.
Pronoun
em
he/she/it (third-person singular pronoun)
Veps
Verb
em
first-person plural present of ei
Vietnamese
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic*ʔɛːm, from Proto-Mon-Khmer*(sʔ)iəm; cognate with Pacoha-em(“younger sibling”).
Pronunciation
(Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
(Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
Noun
em • (俺, 㛪, 腌)
younger sibling
Derived terms
em trai(“younger brother”)
em gái(“younger sister”)
Pronoun
em • (俺, 㛪, 腌)
(familiar) I; me (when you speak to a person who is (presumably) not much older than you, your teacher, or if you're the female partner in a heterosexual relationship or marriage)
(familiar) you (when you speak to a person who is (presumably) not much younger than you, or your student, or if you're the male partner in a heterosexual relationship or marriage)