em

Attested since 1808. In typography, the em is named after the em quadrat (later called em quad), from m quadrat, a metal type used in letterpress typesetting, which is as wide as the point size of the font.

• enPR: ĕm, IPA^(key): /ˈɛm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛm

em (plural ems)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

   The ems and ens at the beginnings and ends.

   • 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

     It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."

2. (typography) A unit of measurement equal to the height of the type in use.

   Synonyms: quad, em quad, mutton, mut

• (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

em

1. Alternative form of 'em

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).

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

em (third-person singular, gender-neutral, objective case, reflexive emself, possessive adjective eir, possessive pronoun eirs)

1. (rare, nonstandard) A gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, the objective case of ey or e, equivalent to the singular them and coordinate with him and her.
   • 1986 April 1, Michael Spivak, The Joy of TeX: A Gourmet Guide to Typesetting with the AMS-TeX macro package‎, Providence: American Mathematical Society, →ISBN, →LCCN, LCC Z253.4.T47 S673 1986, page 68:

     If the author uses such notation, it should be up to Em to indicate Eir intentions clearly, but there’s no harm checking first.

   • 1997, Steven Shaviro, Doom Patrols : A Theoretical Fiction About Postmodernism, London: Serpent's Tail, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 138:

     I may become quite intimate with someone, spend hours with em every night, and yet not have the slightest idea what eir voice sounds like, or what eir RL body looks, feels, and smells like.

   • 2000, Jane Love, “Ethics, Plugged and Unplugged: The Pegagogy of Disorderly Conduct”, in James A. Inman, Donna N. Sewell, editors, Taking flight with OWLs: Examining Electronic Writing Center Work‎, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, LCC PE1414.T24 1999, page 193:

     E invites em to consider how ey represent emselves^[sic], and in so doing, e focuses eir attention on the ethics that make human relations possible.

   • 2011 March 15, RJ Edwards, “89: New Friend”, in Riot Nrrd‎, retrieved 2012-10-06:

     And ultimately: I think my readers are mature enough that knowing eir assigned gender is not going to give them an “excuse” to misgender em.

   • 2023, Aimee Ogden, “A Half-Remembered World”, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol. 145, no. 1-2, whole no. 768 (July/August 2023), pages 146-202

     “You idiot girl! Are you childsick?” She grabbed Asu’s wrist; Asu made no effort to twist away. “Sand and soil, tell me you’re not pregnant. Is it that—what’s eir name? Aeran? Have you lain with em? Tell me!”

• see Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns

• emself

Compare um.

• IPA^(key): /ɛ(ː)m/

em

1. (Scotland, Ireland) a form of hesitant speech, or an expression of uncertainty; um; umm; erm

   She was abused by, em... David, I think. That was his name, he's a real em... what's the word, narcissist. You should really stay away from him.

em (plural ems)

1. The name of the Cyrillic script letter М / м.

• -me-, /me, M&E, ME, Me, Me., me

• IPA^(key): /ˈem/
• Hyphenation: em

em

1. Alternative form of hem (“he, she”)

• Terry Crowley (2004) Bislama Reference Grammar, Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi press, →ISBN, page 14

Inherited from Latin mē, from Proto-Indo-European *(e)me-.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əm]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [em]

em (proclitic, contracted m', enclitic me, contracted enclitic 'm)

1. me (direct or indirect object)

• em is the reinforced (reforçada) form of the pronoun. It is used before verbs beginning with a consonant.

  Em dic… ― My name is… (literally, “I call myself…”)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /əm/

em

1. (most dialects) Reduced form of im (“to him”).

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /əm/

em

1. (most dialects) Reduced form of däm (“to the”).

• The normal reduced form is dem (also spelt d'm). The further reduction is used especially after prepositions.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /em/

em

1. (most dialects) Contraction of en däm (“in the”).

• om, öm (Eifel)

From Old High German umbi

• IPA^(key): /em/

em (+ accusative)

1. (Moselle Franconian) around

• öm (Ripuarian)

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛm]

em n (indeclinable)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

• em in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• em in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Akin to Mongolian эм (em).

em

1. medicine

From Dutch em.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛm/, [ˈɛm]

èm

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

• (Latin-script letter names) huruf; a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha, i, je, ka, el, em, en, o, pe, ki, er, es, te, u, ve, we, eks, ye, zet

• “em” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /em/, [ɛ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /em/, [ɛm]

em f (indeclinable)

1. The name of the letter M.

• Multiple Latin names for the letter M, m have been suggested. The most common is em or a syllabic m, 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).

• (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

Fossilised (2nd person singular) imperative of emō.

em

1. of wonder or emphasis, there!

• "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, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to sully one's fair fame: vitae splendori(em) maculas(is) aspergere
    
• 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
• Hannah Rosén (1999). Latine loqui: trends and directions in the crystallization of classical Latin. München: Fink. p. 47

• IPA^(key): [ɛm]

em m (invariable)

1. The Latvian name of the Latin script letter M/m.

• 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)

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

em m inan

1. The name of the Latin-script letter m/M.

• (Latin-script letter names) a, bej, cej, čet, ćej, dej, ej, ět, ef, gej, ha, cha, i, jot, ka, eł, el, em, en, ejn, o, pej, er, ejŕ, es, eš, śej, tej, u, wej, y, zet, žet, źej

• IPA^(key): /em/, [əm]

em

1. Reduced form of him

• im
• -m

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [ɛmʲ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /jɛmʲ/
• Bender phonemes: {yem}

em

1. and

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Inherited from Old English ēam (“maternal uncle”), from Proto-West Germanic *auhaim, from Proto-Germanic *awahaimaz.

• eam, eem, eeme, eme, heme, nem
• æem, æm, eom, heam, yem (Early Middle English)
• eame, eyme (Late Middle English)

• IPA^(key): /ɛːm/
• Rhymes: -ɛːm

em (plural emes)

1. uncle (brother of one's parents)

   Synonym: uncle

2. (rare) progenitor, forefather
3. (rare) nephew (son of one's sibling)

• English: eam, eme (dialectal)
• Scots: eme

• “ēm, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

em

1. Alternative form of hem (“them”)

em

1. Alternative form of am

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/
• Rhymes: -ɛm

em (oblique me)

1. we; us (first-person plural personal pronoun)

Compare Southern Ohlone men- (“your”).

em

1. your (second-person, singular, possesive pronoun)

María de los Angeles Colós, José Guzman, and John Peabody Harrington (1930s) Chochenyo Field Notes (Survey of California and Other Indian Langauges)‎, Unpublished

• ām, āme

From Proto-West Germanic *auhaim (“maternal uncle”).

ēm m

1. an uncle, mother's brother

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 English am, Gothic 𐌹𐌼 (im, “am”), Latin sum (“am”), Ancient Greek εἰμί (eimí), Albanian jam (“I am”), Sanskrit अस्मि (ásmi), Latvian esmu (“(I) am”), esam (“we are”).

em

1. I am, first-person of vera (meaning "to be")

• emk

Compare German dem.

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

em (definite)

1. dative masculine/neuter singular of der: the

em

1. dative of er: him, to him
2. dative of es: it, to it

From Old Galician-Portuguese en, from Latin in (“in”), from Proto-Italic *en, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”). Doublet of in.

em

1. in; inside; within (contained by)

   Estou em minha casa.

   I’m in my house.

   Encontraram umas moedas no baú.

   They found some coins inside the chest.

2. on; on top of (located just above the surface of)

   O livro está na mesa.

   The book is on the table.

   • 2003, J. K. Rowling, Lia 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 [...]

3. in; at (located in a location)

   Os soldados estão na Crimeia.

   The soldiers are in Crimea.

4. in (part of; a member of)

   Só três jogadores ainda estão nesta equipa/e.

   Only three players are still in this team.

5. in; into; inside (towards the inside of)

   A água entrou em várias casas.

   The water got into various houses.

6. indicates the target of an action

   Quero dar um soco na tua cara.

   I want to punch you in the face.

   Mete um processo neles.

   Shove a lawsuit down their throats.

7. in (pertaining to the particular thing)

   Ela não passou em inglês.

   She didn’t pass in English.

8. in (immediately after a period of time)

   Entraremos em contato com você em duas semanas.

   We will get in contact with you in two weeks.

9. in; during (within a period of time)

   O jornal será publicado no dia cinco.

   The newspaper will be published on the fifth.

10. at; in (in a state of)

    Estamos em perigo!

    We’re in danger!

11. in (indicates means, medium, format, genre or instrumentality)

    Fomos pagos em moeda estrangeira.

    We were paid in foreign currency.

12. in (indicates a language, script, tone etc. of writing, speaking etc.)

    Li um livro em holandês.

    I read a book in Dutch.

13. in (wearing)

    A moça em preto.

    The lady in black.

14. (slang) indicates that the object deserves a given punishment

    Cadeia nele!

    He should be in jail!

    (literally, “jail on him!”)

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:

For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

• (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

Cognate with Turkmen, Turkish em, Kyrgyz, Tuvan, Southern Altai эм (em), Kazakh ем (em), etc.

em

1. medicine

   Antonym: ağu

• Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “em”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 324
• 张, 进锋 (Ayso Cañ Cinfen) (2008) 乌璐别格 (Ulubeğ), 鄭初陽 (Çuyañ Yebey oğlı Ceñ), editors, Salar İbret Sözler 撒拉尔谚语 [Salar Proverbs]‎, China Salar Youth League, page 2

em

1. (South Scots) emphatic first-person singular simple present of ti be

• er
• es
• im

• hem

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish هم (hem), from Persian هم (ham).

• IPA^(key): /em/

em … em … (Cyrillic spelling ем … ем …)

1. not only … but also

   Em me bio em još da mu kažem hvala. ― Not only did he beat me up but he also wanted me to tell him thanks.

• em.
• e.m.
• e. m.

em

1. pm (indicating hours in the afternoon); abbreviation of eftermiddagen.

• Since the 1960s, Sweden primarily uses the 24 hour clock, making am/pm abbreviations unnecessary and less common

• fm

From English em, the English name of the letter M/m.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔem/ [ʔɛm]
• Rhymes: -em
• Syllabification: em

em (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜋ᜔)

1. the name of the Latin-script letter M/m, in the Filipino alphabet

   Synonyms: (in the Abakada alphabet) ma, (in the Abecedario) eme

• (Latin-script letter names) titik; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, en dyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi

• “em”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

From English him.

em

1. 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.
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:15:

     God i mekim kamap tupela bikpela lait. Bikpela em san bilong givim lait long de, na liklik em mun bilong givim lait long nait. Na God i mekim kamap ol sta tu.

     →New International Version translation

• em tasol

• -im

From English him.

em

1. he/she/it (third-person singular pronoun)

em

1. first-person plural present of ei

From Proto-Vietic *ʔɛːm, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(sʔ)iəm; cognate with Pacoh a-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:

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

• Audio (Hà Nội)

  (file)

(classifier đứa, thằng, con) em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)

1. a younger sibling

   thằng em của em ― my younger brother

2. a cousin who is descended from an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to oneself's or one's spouse's (such as a child of a younger sibling of one of one's parents or a grandchild of a younger sibling of one of one's grandparents)

   Synonym: em họ

   - Sao anh lại gọi chú ấy là thầy ? Chú ấy là em của em. Chú ấy cũng là em của anh.
   - Anh thấy mình nên tôn trọng cái có trước. Thầy ấy là thầy của anh từ trước khi anh lấy em.

   - Why did you call him "teacher"? He's my "younger sibling", meaning he's yours, too.
   - I felt like I should respect what comes first. He was my teacher long before we're married.

3. a person younger than oneself but of the same generation
4. (formal) a child or a student
   • 2021, Tâm An, “Cận cảnh các em học sinh tiểu học ăn ngủ, sinh hoạt trong khu cách ly tại trường”, in Tuổi trẻ online‎:

     Cận cảnh các em học sinh tiểu học ăn ngủ, sinh hoạt trong khu cách ly tại trường

     Close-up of primary students living in school quarantine

For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)

1. pronoun used to refer to any person (oneself, the addressee, or any third person) described by the noun em above

   Synonyms: (second person): thằng em, (third person): em ấy, ẻm

   thằng em của em ― my younger brother

   1. (familiar) pronoun used to refer to younger person of the same generation
   2. pronoun used to refer to younger siblings or cousins descended from an ancestor who is/was a younger sibling to one's own or one's spouse's
   3. (formal) pronoun used to refer to a child or a student

      Synonym: con

      Viết một đoạn văn ngắn miêu tả một thứ bố em làm cho em.

      Write a short essay describing something your father made for you.

2. pronoun used to refer to the girl or woman in a romantic relationship

   Antonyms: anh, tôi

   Anh yêu em. / Em cũng yêu anh.

   I love you. / I love you too.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Alexander Pushkin, translated by Hoàng Thúy Toàn, Tôi yêu em [I Loved You], translation of Я вас любил:

     Tôi yêu em âm thầm, không hi vọng, / Lúc rụt rè, khi hậm hực lòng ghen, / Tôi yêu em, yêu chân thành, đằm thắm, / Cầu em được người tình như tôi đã yêu em.

     I loved you, without words, without hope, / Sometimes I felt shy, sometimes I felt tortured with jealousy, / I loved you, truly and deeply, / I pray you will find someone who loves you as much as I ever did.

Textbooks tend to assume grade schoolers and middle schoolers to be young enough to be called em (literally “little sibling”), but high schoolers to be old enough to be called anh (“big brother”) and chị (“big sister”).

For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

em • (㛪, 俺, 腌)

1. small; smaller

• anh
• chị

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

em f (plural emiau)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.

• (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 / u gwpan, fi, w, ecs, y, sèd

em

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

     Ich knouth em.

     I know him.

• 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 51