Link Centre Dictionary

hem

UK/hɛm/ US/hɪm/ uncommon obsolete
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

lap that forms a cloth border doubled back and stitched down

verb

1.

fold over and sew together to provide with a hem

  • “hem my skirt”
2.

utter `hem'' or `ahem''

Origin

From Middle English hem, hemm, in turn from Old English hem, of West Germanic origin, from Proto-West Germanic *hammjan from Proto-Germanic *hamjaną. Related to Middle High German hemmen (“to hem in”), Old Norse hemja (“to hem in, restrain”); outside of Germanic, to Armenian քամել (kʻamel, “to press, wring”), Russian ком (kom, “lump”). The verb is from Middle English hemmen, from Old English hemman, from Proto-Germanic *hamjaną, or alternatively derived from the noun.

Phrases

  • hem in
  • kiss someone's hem
  • kiss the hem of someone's garment
  • touch someone's hem
  • touch the hem of someone's garment
  • touch the hem of someone's robe

Related words

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.