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em

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology 1

    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.

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: ĕm, IPA(key): /ˈɛm/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɛm

    Noun

    em (plural ems)

    1. The name of the Latin-script letter M/m.
      • 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
      Insert here a one-em dash or long dash.
      • 1808, C[aleb] Stower, “An Account of the Different Advances in Journeymen’s Wages, from the Year 1785 to 1805, with the Present Regulations and Scale of Prices”, in The Compositor’s and Pressman’s Guide to the Art of Printing; [], London: [] [T]he Editor, [] for B[enjamin] Crosby and Co. [], →OCLC, page 419:
        That the price of work, paid for by letters be advanced from fourpence to fourpence halfpenny per thousand, including English and brevier; and, in leaded matter, the ems and ens at the beginnings and ends of the lines not to be reckoned in the width.
    Derived terms
    Translations

    See also

    Etymology 2

      See 'em.

      Pronoun

      em

      1. Alternative form of 'em.

      Etymology 3

        English Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia

        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).

        Pronunciation

        Pronoun

        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 6 October 2012:
            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!”
        Synonyms
        Derived terms

        Etymology 4

          Onomatopoeic. Compare um.

          Pronunciation

          Interjection

          em

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

          Etymology 5

            From Russian эм (em), Ukrainian ем (em), etc.

            Noun

            em (plural ems)

            1. The name of the letter м/М in Cyrillic alphabets.

            Anagrams

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            Bislama

            Pronunciation

            • IPA(key): /ˈem/
            • Hyphenation: em

            Pronoun

            em

            1. alternative form of hem (he, she)

            See also

            More information singular, dual ...
            1 Used only as an object of a preposition or a verb.
            2 The collective pronouns specify that the action is performed by all subjects together, rather than on their own.
            Some speakers may not distinguish various plurality categories, using only one or two plural pronouns.

            References

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

            Etymology

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

            Pronunciation

            Pronoun

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

            1. me (direct or indirect object)

            Usage notes

            • 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…”)

            Declension

            More information strong/subject, weak (direct object) ...

            1 Behaves grammatically as plural. 2 Behaves grammatically as third person.
            3 Only as object of a preposition. 4 Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

            Central Franconian

            Etymology 1

            See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

            Pronunciation

            Pronoun

            em

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

            Etymology 2

            See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

            Pronunciation

            Article

            em

            1. (most dialects) Reduced form of däm (to the).
            Usage notes
            • The normal reduced form is dem (also spelt d'm). The further reduction is used especially after prepositions.

            Etymology 3

            See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

            Pronunciation

            Contraction

            em

            1. (most dialects) contraction of en + däm, literally in the
            Alternative forms

            Etymology 4

            From Old High German umbi.

            Pronunciation

            Preposition

            em (+ accusative)

            1. (Moselle Franconian) around
            Alternative forms
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            Czech

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            em n (indeclinable)

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

            Further reading

            Danish

            Etymology 1

            From Old Norse eimr, from Proto-Germanic *aimaz. Cognates include Norwegian Nynorsk eim and Icelandic eimur.

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            em c (singular definite emmen, not used in plural form)

            1. steam, vapour
              Coordinate terms: damp, os, røg
            2. a smell, odour
              Coordinate terms: lugt, dunst, stank, odør
            3. (figurative) a distinct feature
            Declension
            More information common gender, singular ...
            Derived terms

            Etymology 2

            Abbreviation of europamesterskab.

            Alternative forms

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            em (singular definite em'et, plural indefinite em'er)

            1. (sports) European championship
            Declension
            More information gender, singular ...
            Derived terms
            • Em-guld
            • Em-hold
            • Em-kamp
            • Em-slutrunde
            • Em-titel
            • Fodbold-Em
            • Svømme-Em

            Verb

            em

            1. imperative of emme

            Further reading

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            Daur

            Etymology

            Akin to Mongolian эм (em).

            Noun

            em

            1. medicine

            Indonesian

            Etymology

            From Dutch em.

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            èm (plural em-em)

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

            See also

            Further reading

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            Latin

            Pronunciation

            Etymology 1

            Noun

            em f (indeclinable)

            1. 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 syllabic m, although there is some evidence which also supports, as names for the letter, , əm, , 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

            Etymology 2

            Fossilised (2nd person singular) imperative of emō.

            Interjection

            em

            1. of wonder or emphasis, there!

            Etymology 3

            From Proto-Indo-European *ím.

            Pronoun

            em (Old Latin)

            1. alternative form of eum

            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, 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

            Latvian

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            em m (invariable)

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

            See also

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            Lower Sorbian

            Pronunciation

            Noun

            em m inan

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

            See also

            Luxembourgish

            Pronunciation

            Pronoun

            em

            1. Reduced form of him

            Declension

            More information nominative, accusative ...

            Manikion

            Noun

            em

            1. mother

            References

            • A Grammar Sketch of Sougb, in Languages of the Eastern Bird's Head (2002)

            Marshallese

            Alternative forms

            Pronunciation

            Conjunction

            em

            1. and

            References

            Middle English

            Etymology 1

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

            Alternative forms

            Pronunciation

            • IPA(key): /ɛːm/
            • Rhymes: -ɛːm

            Noun

            em (plural emes)

            1. uncle (brother of one's parents)
              Synonym: uncle
            2. (rare) progenitor, forefather
            3. (rare) nephew (son of one's sibling)
            Descendants
            • English: eam, eme (dialectal)
            • Scots: eme
            References

            Etymology 2

            Pronoun

            em

            1. alternative form of hem (them)

            Etymology 3

            Verb

            em

            1. alternative form of am

            Mizo

            Etymology 1

              Particle

              em

              1. Marks a yes-no question.
                I lokal dâwn em?
                Are you going to come?

              Etymology 2

                From Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔem.

                Verb

                em

                1. (of the sun) to shine, scorch

                Further reading

                Northern Kurdish

                Pronunciation

                Pronoun

                em (oblique me)

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

                See also

                More information singular, plural ...

                Northern Ohlone

                Etymology

                Compare Southern Ohlone men- (your).

                Pronoun

                em

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

                References

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

                Old Frisian

                Alternative forms

                Etymology

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

                Noun

                ēm m

                1. an uncle, mother's brother

                Inflection

                More information singular, plural ...

                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 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).

                Verb

                em

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

                Derived terms

                Pennsylvania German

                Etymology

                Compare German dem.

                Pronunciation

                Article

                em (definite)

                1. dative masculine/neuter singular of der: the

                Declension

                More information singular, plural ...

                Pronoun

                em

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

                Declension

                More information Number, singular ...

                1 unstressed

                Polish

                Etymology

                Phonetic spelling of the letter.

                Pronunciation

                Noun

                em n (indeclinable)

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

                Further reading

                • em in Polish dictionaries at PWN

                Portuguese

                Etymology

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

                Pronunciation

                • (Brazil) IPA(key): (careful pronunciation) /ẽj̃/, (natural pronunciation) /ĩ/

                Preposition

                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!”)
                15. (formal, literary) used in a gerundial or participial clause to emphasize its conditional or temporal meaning
                  Em se tratando de você, já nada me surpreende.
                  When it comes to you, nothing surprises me anymore.
                  • 2012 November 23, Paulinho, “Atacante Hugo, do Sport, pode ser denunciado por sonegação de impostos na Receita Federal [Sport striker Hugo might be indicted for tax evasion by Brazil's revenue service]”, in Blog do Paulinho [Paulie's Blog]:
                    Grande esperança do Sport Recife para evitar o rebaixamento no Brasileirão nas próximas rodadas, o atacante Hugo deve ser denunciado, nos próximos dias, por um dos agentes que realizou sua transação aos Emirados Árabes, pelo crime de Sonegação Fiscal.
                    Em comprovada a dívida, terá que arcar com todos os impostos não pegos no período da transação, além de pesada multa.
                    Sport Recife's great hope of avoiding relegation in the Brasileirão [Brazil's main soccer league] in the next few rounds, striker Hugo is expected to be indicted, in the next few days, by one of the agents who carried out his deal with the UAE, for the crime of tax evasion.
                    If the debt is proven, he'll have to pay all the taxes not paid during the transaction, as well as a hefty fine.

                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:

                Quotations

                For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

                Synonyms

                See also

                Further reading

                Salar

                Etymology

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

                Noun

                em

                1. medicine
                  Antonym: ağu

                References

                • 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

                Scots

                Verb

                em

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

                See also

                Serbo-Croatian

                Alternative forms

                Etymology

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

                Pronunciation

                Conjunction

                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.

                Swedish

                Alternative forms

                Pronunciation

                Noun

                em

                1. 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

                Tagalog

                Etymology

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

                Pronunciation

                Noun

                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

                Derived terms

                See also

                Further reading

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

                Tok Pisin

                Etymology

                From English him and English 'em.

                Pronoun

                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

                Derived terms

                See also

                More information singular, dual ...

                Torres Strait Creole

                Etymology

                From English him.

                Pronoun

                em

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

                Veps

                Verb

                em

                1. first-person plural present of ei

                Vietnamese

                Alternative forms

                • (internet slang) iem

                Etymology

                Inherited 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 South Central province of Quảng Nam:

                1915, Phan Kế Bính, Việt Nam phong tục [Vietnamese customs]:

                Vợ chồng con nhà sang trọng, gọi nhau bằng cậu mợ, thầy thông thầy phán thì gọi nhau bằng thầy , nhà thường thì gọi nhau bằng anh chị. Có con rồi thì gọi nhau bằng thầy em đẻ em, nhà thô tục thì gọi nhau là bố cu mẹ đĩ, có người thì gọi bố nó mẹ nó, có người cả hai vợ chồng gọi lẫn nhau là nhà ta. Ở Quảng-Nam thì vợ gọi chồng là anh, chồng gọi vợ là em. Ở Nghệ Tĩnh vợ chồng gọi là gấy nhông.

                Spouses from wealthy families tend to call each other cậu and mợ; those employed by the government prefer thầy and ; while in an average household, they call each other anh and chị. Couples with children call each other thầy em [father of the little one] and đẻ em [mother of the little one], while those from low-born families use bố cu and mẹ đĩ; there are also those who say bố nó and mẹ nó and those who both call each other nhà ta. In Quảng Nam, a housewife would call her husband anh and a husband would call his wife em. In Nghệ Tĩnh, "husband and wife" is called gấy nhông.

                Pronunciation

                Noun

                (classifier đứa, thằng, con) em (, , )

                1. younger sibling
                  thằng em của emmy younger brother
                2. 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. person younger than oneself but of the same generation
                4. (formal) child; 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

                Quotations

                For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

                Derived terms

                Pronoun

                em (, , )

                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 emmy 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, eng, tôi, tui
                  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.

                Usage notes

                • 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).

                Quotations

                For quotations using this term, see Citations:em.

                Adjective

                em (, , )

                1. small; smaller

                See also

                Welsh

                Pronunciation

                Noun

                em f (plural emiau)

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

                See also

                Mutation

                More information radical, soft ...

                Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
                All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

                Yola

                Pronoun

                em

                1. alternative form of ham
                  • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
                    Ich knouth em.
                    I know him.

                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 51

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