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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Translingual
Symbol
sem
( international standards ) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-5 language code for Semitic languages .
English
Pronunciation
Noun
sem (plural sems )
Clipping of seminary .
Clipping of semester .
Clipping of semicolon .
Derived terms
Anagrams
Bahnar
Etymology
From Proto-Bahnaric *ceː₂m , from Proto-Mon-Khmer *cim ~ *ciim ~ *ciəm ~ *caim ~ *cum ( “ bird ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
sem
bird
Catalan
Verb
sem
( Northern , Alghero ) first-person plural present indicative of ésser
( Northern , Alghero ) first-person plural present indicative of ser
Chinese
Etymology
From clipping of English sem ester .
Pronunciation
Noun
sem
( Hong Kong Cantonese , university slang ) semester (Classifier : 個 / 个 c )
終於 完 sem 喇 。/ 终于 完 sem 喇 。 [Hong Kong Cantonese ] ― zung1 jyu1 jyun4 sem6 laa3 . ― The semester has finally ended.
Derived terms
References
Czech
Etymology
Inherited from Old Czech sěmo , from Proto-Slavic *sěmo .
Pronunciation
Adverb
sem
hither (to here )
Eskayan
Numeral
sem
nine
Hungarian
Pronunciation
Conjunction
sem ( clitic )
…, neither (or not …, either )
Julit sem láttam. ― I didn’t see Juli, either .
Én sem láttam Julit. ― I didn’t see Juli, either .
not even
Meg sem próbálta. ― S/he didn’t even try it.
Conjunction
sem ( paired )
neither … nor …
Sem te, sem ő nem jöhettek velem. ― Neither you nor s/he can come with me.
Usage notes
The word sem and nincs , nincsen ( “ it/there isn't ” ) are contracted into the forms sincs , sincsen ( “ it/there isn't, either ” ) .
Derived terms
See also
Further reading
sem in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh . A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz. ). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse sem ( “ as, like ” ) , possibly from Proto-Germanic *samaz ( “ same, alike ” ) .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /sɛːm/
Rhymes: -ɛːm
( before words beginning with a consonant ) IPA (key ) : /sɛm/
Conjunction
sem
( with a noun phrase ) as , like
Hann var sem guð meðal manna. He was like a god amongst men.
Hár hennar var hvítt sem snjór. Her hair was white as snow.
Hann er sem nýr. He is as new.
( with a clause ) like , as if
Svo virðist sem sjúkdómurinn sé arfgengur Is seems as though the disease is hereditary.
( relative, with a clause ) who , which , that
Þetta er maðurinn sem ég hitti í gær. That’s the man that I met yesterday.
Þetta er konan sem barði mig. That’s the woman who hit me.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Verb
sem ( weak )
first-person singular present indicative of semja
second-person singular imperative of semja
Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
sem
Alternative form of seem ( “ seam ” )
Etymology 2
Noun
sem
Alternative form of seem ( “ load ” )
Old Norse
Etymology 1
Possibly from Proto-Germanic *samaz ( “ same, alike ” ) .
Conjunction
sem
as , the same , like
Descendants
Icelandic: sem
Faroese: sum ( from East Nordic )
Norwegian Nynorsk: ( dialectal ) sem , se
Old Swedish: sum , som
Swedish: som
→ Middle Norwegian: sum
Danish: som
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
sem
inflection of semja :
first-person singular active present indicative
second-person singular active imperative
References
“sem ”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910 ) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic , Oxford: Clarendon Press
Old Tupi
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Tupi-Guarani *t͡sẽp , from Proto-Tupian *tẽp .[ 1]
Cognate with Guaraní sẽ , Sateré-Mawé wẽẽ-tẽp .
Pronunciation
Verb
sem (first-person singular active indicative asem , first-person singular negative active indicative n'asemi , first-person singular gerund gûisema , noun sema ) ( intransitive )
to exit ; to leave ; to get out
Asem 'y suí. I got out of the water.
to move ( to change residence )
Synonym: îakasó
( of a celestial body ) to rise
Conjugation
Note: not all forms are attested, most of the table is reconstructed based on known patterns.
Descendants
References
^ Andrey Nikulin (2020 ) Proto-Macro-Jê: um estudo reconstrutivo (in Portuguese), Brasília: UnB, page 568
Further reading
Portuguese
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese sen , from Latin sine , from Proto-Indo-European *sene .
Pronunciation
Preposition
sem
-less ; without ( not having, containing, characteristic of, etc. )
Antonym: com
um livro sem capa ― a book without a cover
casa sem janelas ― windowless house
( followed by infinitive ) without ( not doing or not having done something )
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:sem .
Synonyms
Antonyms
( antonym(s) of “ not doing or having done something ” ) : use gerund (-ando , -endo , -indo )
Derived terms
Descendants
→ Ambonese Malay: seng
Macanese: sim
Romani
Verb
sem
first-person singular present indicative of si
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology 1
This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
Preposition
sem (Cyrillic spelling сем )
except , apart from , besides
Etymology 2
From Ancient Greek σῆμα ( sêma ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
sȇm m (Cyrillic spelling се̑м )
( semantics ) the smallest unit of meaning
Further reading
Slovene
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Proto-Slavic *sěmo .
Adverb
sem
hither , over here (to here )
Etymology 2
From Proto-Slavic *esmь .
Verb
sə̏m
first-person singular present of bíti
Further reading
“sem ”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2024
Tok Pisin
Etymology
From English same .
Adjective
sem
same
1989 , Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin , Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 2:25 :
Zou
Noun
sem
hair
References