harm

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See also: Harm

English

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Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English harm, herm, from Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm, from Proto-Germanic *harmaz (“harm; shame; pain”). Cognate with Dutch harm (“harm”), German Harm (“harm”), Swedish harm (“anger, indignation, harm”), Icelandic harmur (“sorrow, grief”).

Pronunciation

Noun

harm (countable and uncountable, plural harms)

  1. Physical injury; hurt; damage.
    No harm came to my possessions.
    You can do a lot of harm to someone if you kick them in the balls. Especially if they get revenge and bring out a bazooka and blast your head off.
  2. Emotional or figurative hurt.
    Although not physically injured in the car accident, she received some psychological harm.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.
  3. Detriment; misfortune.
    I wish him no harm.
  4. That which causes injury, damage, or loss.

Usage notes

Collocations

Adjectives often applied to "harm": bodily, physical, environmental, emotional, financial, serious, irreparable, potential, long-term, short-term, permanent, redressable, lasting, material, substantial.

Translations

Verb

harm (third-person singular simple present harms, present participle harming, simple past and past participle harmed)

  1. To cause injury to another; to hurt; to cause damage to something.
    • 2020 December 16, Yan Ming, “Awakening Moral Conscience”, in Minghui‎:
      Will justice and conscience of society not be harmed if people avoid the truth?

Translations

Derived terms

Terms derived from the noun or verb harm
Expressions derived from the noun or verb harm

Anagrams

Icelandic

Noun

harm

  1. indefinite accusative singular of harmur

Irish

Pronunciation

Noun

harm

  1. h-prothesized form of arm

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm.

Noun

harm (plural harms)

  1. harm, injury, ruination

Descendants

  • English: harm
  • Scots: herm, hairm
  • Yola: harrm

References

Old Norse

Noun

harm

  1. accusative singular of harmr

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *harmaz.

Noun

harm m

  1. harm

Descendants

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish harmber, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *harmaz. Cognate with English harm.

Noun

harm c

  1. angry indignation (at something considered unjust)
  2. (archaic) (physical or emotional) harm

Declension

Declension of harm 
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative harm harmen — —
Genitive harms harmens — —

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia