sam

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word sam. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word sam, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say sam in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word sam you have here. The definition of the word sam will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofsam, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Appendix:Variations of "sam"

Translingual

Symbol

sam

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Samaritan Aramaic.

English

Etymology 1

Acronym

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

sam

  1. surface-to-air missile

Etymology 2

From Middle English sammen, samnen, from Old English samnian, ġesamnian (“to collect, assemble, bring together, gather, join, unite, compose, meet, glean”), from Proto-West Germanic *samnōn, from Proto-Germanic *samnōną (“to gather”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Cognate with Dutch zamelen (“to collect”), German sammeln (“to collect, gather”), Swedish samla (“to gather, collect”), Icelandic samna (“to gather, collect”). More at same.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

sam (third-person singular simple present sams, present participle samming, simple past and past participle sammed)

  1. (transitive, UK dialectal) To assemble.
  2. (transitive, UK dialectal, of persons) To bring together; join (in marriage, friendship, love, etc.).
  3. (transitive, UK dialectal, of things) To bring together; collect; put in order; arrange.
  4. (intransitive, UK dialectal) To assemble; come together.
  5. (transitive, UK dialectal) To coagulate; curdle (milk).
Usage notes
Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Middle English sām (“together”), from Old English samen (“together”), from Proto-West Germanic *saman, from Proto-Germanic *samanai (“together”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together, one”).

Adverb

sam (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Together

Etymology 4

From Middle English sam- (prefix), from Old English sam-, from Proto-Germanic *sēmi- (“half”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi- (“half”). Related to semi- (via Latin).

Pronunciation

Adjective

sam (not comparable)

  1. (dialectal) Half or imperfectly done.
  2. (of food) Half-heated.
Related terms

Etymology 5

Possibly from Uncle Sam.

Pronunciation

Noun

sam (plural sams)

  1. (slang) Federal narcotics agent.

Anagrams

Atong (India)

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bodo-Garo *sam¹ (“grass”). Related to Garo samsi, Garo sam.

Noun

sam (Bengali script সাম)

  1. grass; weed
  2. medicine
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

sam- (Bengali script সাম)

  1. to wait

Etymology 3

Classifier

sam- (Bengali script সাম)

  1. used with any bilateral body part, hands, eyes, etc. and also tires

References

Charrua

Numeral

sam

  1. two

References

  • El último charrúa: de Salsipuedes a la actualidad (1996)
  • Idioma español y habla criolla: Charrúas y vilelas (1968)
  • Čestmír Loukotka, ‎Johannes Wilbert (editor), Classification of South American Indian Languages (1968, Los Angeles: Latin American Studies Center, University of California), page(s) 62

Chuukese

Noun

sam

  1. father

Garo

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bodo-Garo *sam¹ (“grass”). Related to Atong (India) sam.

Noun

sam

  1. grass; herb
  2. medicine
  3. curry

Etymology 2

Classifier

sam

  1. used with any bilateral body part, hands, eyes, etc.

Further reading

  • Burling, R. (2003) The Language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo) Vol. II: The Lexicon‎, Bangladesh: University of Michigan, page 275

Hokkien

For pronunciation and definitions of sam – see 三 (“three; the other woman; the other man; etc.”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 三).
For pronunciation and definitions of sam – see 衫 (“unlined garment; shirt; top; etc.”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 衫).
For pronunciation and definitions of sam – see 舢.
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 舢).
For pronunciation and definitions of sam – see 參 (“Three Stars mansion; etc.”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 參).

Lhao Vo

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-sum (“three”). Cognate with Lashi soem" and Burmese သုံး (sum:, “three”).

Numeral

sam

  1. three

References

  • Dr. Ola Hanson, A Dictionary of the Kachin Language (1906).

Macanese

Verb

sam

  1. Alternative form of sâm

Maltese

Root
s-w-m
3 terms

Etymology

From Arabic صامَ (ṣāma).

Pronunciation

Verb

sam (imperfect jsum, active participle sajjem, verbal noun sawm)

  1. to fast

Conjugation

    Conjugation of sam
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
perfect m somt somt sam somna somtu samu
f samet
imperfect m nsum ssum jsum nsumu ssumu jsumu
f ssum
imperative sum sumu

Masurian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish sam.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key):
  • Syllabification: sam

Adjective

sam (not comparable)

  1. alone (oneself without company)
  2. alone (oneself without help)

Adverb

sam (not comparable)

  1. alone, by oneself, without company

Mizo

Etymology 1

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *sham, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(t)sam.

Noun

sam

  1. hair (of the head)
  2. antenna (of insects)

Etymology 2

Adjective

sam

  1. easy, simple

Nga La

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *sham, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(t)sam.

Noun

sam

  1. hair (of the head)

References

  • Matu (Chin) Dictionary by Ropna Saruum, Matupi 2007

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *samos (“summer”) (compare Welsh haf), from Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-h₂-ó- (compare Old English sumor, Old Armenian ամառն (amaṙn)).

Pronunciation

Noun

sam m (genitive unattested, no plural)

  1. summer

Inflection

Masculine o-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative sam — —
Vocative saim — —
Accusative samN — —
Genitive saimL — —
Dative samL — —
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Synonyms

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Nasalization
sam ṡam unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

Old Norse

Verb

sam

  1. second-person singular imperative of sama

Old Polish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *samъ. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (10th–15th CE) /saːm/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /sɒm/

Pronoun

sam

  1. alone, by oneself, without company
  2. myself, yourself, himself, etc. (emphatic determiner, used similarly to "no other than" or "the very", as in "I myself")
  3. The meaning of this term is uncertain.
Descendants
  • Masurian: sam
  • Polish: sam
  • Silesian: sōm

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *sěmo. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

Adverb

sam

  1. here; hither
Descendants

References

Phalura

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Adverb

sam (Perso-Arabic spelling سم)

  1. equally

References

  • Liljegren, Henrik, Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎, Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Polish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish sam.

Adjective

sam (not generally comparable, comparative bardziej sam, superlative najbardziej sam, no derived adverb)

  1. alone (oneself without company)
  2. alone (oneself without help)

Adverb

sam (not generally comparable, comparative bardziej sam, superlative najbardziej sam)

  1. alone, by oneself, without company
    Synonyms: osobno, samodzielnie
  2. (Middle Polish) here (at this place)
    Synonyms: tu, tutaj

Particle

sam

  1. emphatic determiner, used similarly to "no other than" or "the very", as in "I myself"; oneself
    Przygotowując intrygę przeciwko szefowi, pani Magdalena kazała swojej córce ubrać się skromnie, a sama założyła sukienkę z głębokim dekoltem.
    Preparing the intrigue against the boss, Ms. Magdalena told her daughter to dress modestly, while she herself put on a dress with a deep neckline.
    Poszedł do samego końca.
    He went to the very end.
  2. by oneself, alone (by one's own volition or power, without outside help or encouragement)
Declension
Declension of sam (irregular)
singular plural
masculine animate masculine inanimate feminine neuter virile (= masculine personal) non-virile
nominative sam sama samo sami same
genitive samego samej samego samych
dative samemu samej samemu samym
accusative samego sam samą samo samych same
instrumental samym samą samym samymi
locative samym samej samym samych
Derived terms
adjectives
adverb
Related terms
adjectives
adverb
nouns
verbs

Etymology 2

Clipping of sklep samoobsługowy.

Alternative forms

Noun

sam m inan

  1. (colloquial) self-service shop
    Synonym: sklep samoobsługowy
Declension
Declension of sam
singular plural
nominative sam samy
genitive samu samów
dative samowi samom
accusative sam samy
instrumental samem samami
locative samie samach
vocative samie samy

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), sam is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 159 times in scientific texts, 70 times in news, 120 times in essays, 231 times in fiction, and 302 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 882 times, making it the 48th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

References

  1. ^ Ida Kurcz (1990) “sam”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language]‎ (in Polish), volume 2, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 518

Further reading

  • sam in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • sam in Polish dictionaries at PWN
  • “SAM_I”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 2023 February 22
  • “SAM_II”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 2023 February 22
  • Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “sam”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎
  • Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “sam”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎
  • J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “sam”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 11
  • sam in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego

Rohingya

Alternative forms

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

sam (Hanifi spelling 𐴏𐴝𐴔)

  1. skin
    Synonym: samra

Romani

Verb

sam

  1. first-person plural present indicative of si

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *samъ, from Proto-Indo-European *somHós.

Adjective

sȃm (definite sȃmī, Cyrillic spelling са̑м)

  1. alone, sole
  2. unaided, single-handed
  3. absolute, very, mere, unmixed
  4. solitary, secluded
Declension
indefinite forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative sam sama samo
genitive sama same sama
dative samu samoj samu
accusative inanimate
animate 		sam
sama 		samu samo
vocative sam sama samo
locative samu samoj samu
instrumental samim samom samim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative sami same sama
genitive samih samih samih
dative samim(a) samim(a) samim(a)
accusative same same sama
vocative sami same sama
locative samim(a) samim(a) samim(a)
instrumental samim(a) samim(a) samim(a)
definite forms
singular masculine feminine neuter
nominative sami sama samo
genitive samog(a) same samog(a)
dative samom(u/e) samoj samom(u/e)
accusative inanimate
animate 		sami
samog(a) 		samu samo
vocative sami sama samo
locative samom(e/u) samoj samom(e/u)
instrumental samim samom samim
plural masculine feminine neuter
nominative sami same sama
genitive samih samih samih
dative samim(a) samim(a) samim(a)
accusative same same sama
vocative sami same sama
locative samim(a) samim(a) samim(a)
instrumental samim(a) samim(a) samim(a)
Alternative forms
  • sȃm

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *(j)esmь, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *esmi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésmi.

Verb

sȁm (Cyrillic spelling са̏м)

  1. first-person singular present tense enclitic form of biti.
    Tu sam. — I'm here.

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish sam.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsam/
  • Rhymes: -am
  • Syllabification: sam

Pronoun

sam

  1. here
    Synonym: tukej
  2. hither

Further reading

  • sam in silling.org

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *samъ, from Proto-Indo-European *somHós.

Pronunciation

Adjective

sȃm (not comparable)

  1. alone, sole
  2. unaided, single-handed, by oneself

Inflection

 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Hard
masculine feminine neuter
nom. sing. sám sáma sámo
singular
masculine feminine neuter
nominative sám ind
sámi def 		sáma sámo
genitive sámega sáme sámega
dative sámemu sámi sámemu
accusative nominativeinan or
genitiveanim 		sámo sámo
locative sámem sámi sámem
instrumental sámim sámo sámim
dual
masculine feminine neuter
nominative sáma sámi sámi
genitive sámih sámih sámih
dative sámima sámima sámima
accusative sáma sámi sámi
locative sámih sámih sámih
instrumental sámima sámima sámima
plural
masculine feminine neuter
nominative sámi sáme sáma
genitive sámih sámih sámih
dative sámim sámim sámim
accusative sáme sáme sáma
locative sámih sámih sámih
instrumental sámimi sámimi sámimi

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “sam”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
  • “sam”, in Termania, Amebis
  • See also the general references

Swedish

Pronunciation

Verb

sam

  1. past indicative of simma

Anagrams

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

(classifier con) sam • (杉, 衫, 𧏰, 𧓰, 𪓫)

  1. a horseshoe crab
    đuôi sam ― a horseshoe crab's tail; a braid/plait
See also
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

(classifier cây) sam • (蔘)

  1. common purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
    Synonym: rau sam

Ye'kwana

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Ideophone

sam

  1. zooming
  2. (of food) stinging, biting

References

  • Cáceres, Natalia (2011) “samm”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎, Lyon, page 166

Zhuang

Zhuang cardinal numbers
 <  2 3 4  > 
    Cardinal : sam

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *saːm (“three”), from Middle Chinese 三 (MC sam, “three”). Cognate with Thai สาม (sǎam), Northern Thai ᩈᩣ᩠ᨾ, Lao ສາມ (sām), Lü ᦉᦱᧄ (ṡaam), Tai Dam ꪎꪱꪣ, Shan သၢမ် (sǎam), Tai Nüa ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (sáam), Ahom 𑜏𑜪 (saṃ), Bouyei saaml.

Pronunciation

Numeral

sam (1957–1982 spelling sam)

  1. three
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia