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-, /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
Usage notes
em is the reinforced (reforçada) form of the pronoun. It is used before verbs beginning with consonant.
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
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 / *acca, 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(“them”)
Northern Kurdish
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -em
Pronoun
em (obliqueme)
we; us (first-person plural personal pronoun)
Old Frisian
Alternative forms
ām, āme
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic*auhaim(“maternal uncle”)
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
Pennsylvania German
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɛm/
Etymology
Compare Germandem.
Article
emm (definite)
the
Declension
Pronoun
em
to him
Declension
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 using 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”).
According to Phan Kế Bính's Việt Nam phong tục (1915), apparently the practice of calling each other anh-em for those in relationship originated from the province of Quảng Nam:
Pronunciation
(Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
(Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɛm˧˧]
Noun
(classifierđứa, thằng, con) em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)
a younger sibling
a cousin who is descended from an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to yours or your spouse's
Synonym:em họ
someone who's presumably a little younger than you, or old enough relative to you to be your younger sibling
Derived terms
Pronoun
em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)
(familiar) I/me, someone who's presumably a little younger than you, or old enough relative to you to be your younger sibling
I/me, your cousin who's descended from an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to yours or your spouse's
I/me, your girlfriend or wife
I/me, your student who's younger than you
(familiar) you, someone who's presumably a little younger than me, or old enough relative to me to be my younger sibling
you, my cousin who's descended from an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to mine or my spouse's
you, my girlfriend or wife
Antonyms:anh, tôi
you, my student who's younger than me
(education) you, the grade school or middle school student reading this textbook
Synonyms:anh, chị
Synonyms
(in teacher-student relationship):con
Adjective
em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)
small; smaller
See also
anh
chị
Welsh
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɛm/
Noun
emf (pluralemiau)
The name of the Latin-script letter M.
Mutation
See also
(Latin-script letter names) llythyren; a, bi, ec, èch, di, èdd, e, èf, èff, èg, eng, aetsh, i/i dot, je, ce, el, èll, em, en, o, pi, ffi, ciw, er, rhi, ès, ti, èth, u/u bedol, fi, w, ecs, y, sèd(Category: cy:Latin letter names)