um

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Translingual

Symbol

um

  1. micrometer; variant of μm used when the character μ is unavailable

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʌm/, /əːm/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌm (when stressed, or as a verb)

Used in rhotic dialects. Compare to British English erm.

Interjection

um

  1. Expression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation.
    Synonyms: er, hmm, uh
    Um, I don’t know.
    Let’s see... um... how about this?
    • 2002, Newsweek, volume 140, page lxxx:
      It's a great test of the claims of open-source gurus, who say that a self-motivated community can outcode any team working for a single employer—like, um, Microsoft.
  2. (chiefly US) Dated spelling of mmm.
    • 1963, Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle, Dell Publishing Co., Inc., page 65:
      "About the same, wherever you go," he agreed.
      "Um," I said.
  3. (US) An expression to forcefully call attention to something wrong.
    Um, excuse me!
  4. (UK, childish) An expression of shocked disapproval used by a child who witnesses forbidden behavior.
    • 2011, Kimberly Willis Holt, Piper Reed, Clubhouse Queen:
      While I was in her room, Sam walked by and said, “Um, I'm telling!”
      “You're telling what?” I asked.
      “You're reading Tori's journal,” she said.
    • 2021, Sarah Strangeways, The Gingerbread House, page 13:
      Mair used to look after Laura. If anyone threatened to tease her, Mair would stand up straight, point her finger at the enemy and shout, 'Um! I'm telling on you!'

Verb

um (third-person singular simple present ums, present participle umming, simple past and past participle ummed)

  1. (intransitive) To make the um sound to express uncertainty or hesitancy.
    • 2007, Michael Erard, Um... Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean, page 136:
      Meanwhile, in the popular mind umming was simply a bad habit, akin to spitting or picking one’s nose.

Etymology 2

From Middle English um, from Old Norse um, umb (around, about), from Proto-Germanic *umbi (around), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (round about, around). Cognate with Old English ymbe (around), West Frisian om (around), Dutch om (around), German um (around). More at umbe.

Preposition

um

  1. Alternative form of umbe
Alternative forms

Etymology 3

Particle

um

  1. (dated, sometimes humorous, often offensive) An undifferentiated determiner or article; a miscellaneous linking word, or filler with nonspecific meaning; representation of broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans.
    He um Growling Bear. He um heap big chief.
    • 1871, “Grand camp meeting on Bear River”, in The Keepapitchinin, volume III, page 3:
      “me heap brave—me talk to um white man so [] me good injun, like um white man, mebbe so, ugh!”

See also

Anagrams

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *umъ

Pronunciation

Noun

um m inan

  1. skill, art

Declension

See also

Further reading

  • um in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • um in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
  • um in Internetová jazyková příručka

East Makian

Noun

um

  1. house

References

  • C. L. Voorhoeve, The Makian Languages and Their Neighbours (1982)

Elfdalian

Etymology

From Old Norse um, from Proto-Germanic *umbi. Cognate with Swedish om.

Conjunction

um

  1. if

Preposition

um

  1. around
  2. about (a subject)

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse umb, from Proto-Germanic *umbi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (round about, around).

Pronunciation

Preposition

um

  1. around
  2. about
  3. during
  4. through
  5. over

Conjunction

um

  1. whether, if

Galician

Galician numbers (edit)
10
[a], [b] ←  0 1 2  → [a], [b], [c] 10  → 
    Cardinal (reintegrationist / masculine): um
    Cardinal (standard / masculine): un
    Cardinal (standard / feminine): unha
    Cardinal (reintegrationist / feminine): umha, uma
    Ordinal: primeiro
    Ordinal abbreviation:

Numeral

um m (feminine umha or uma, reintegrationist norm)

  1. one

Usage notes

The numeral um and its feminine forms umha and uma can form contractions with the prepositions com (with), de (of, from), and em (in).

Derived terms

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle High German umbe, ümbe, from Old High German umbi, from Proto-West Germanic *umbi.

Central German dialects show regular umlaut; the standard form is from Upper German, where umlaut of -u- was blocked before labial geminates and clusters. Cognate with Luxembourgish ëm, Dutch om, English umbe.

Pronunciation

Preposition

um (with accusative)

  1. about
    Es geht um den Kuchen.It's about the pie.
  2. around
    Um die Eckearound the corner
  3. at, by (when relating to time)
    Um acht Uhr reisen wir abAt eight o’clock we depart
  4. by (percentage difference)
    Die Verkaufsmengen gingen um 6% zurück.Sales in volume has decreased by 6%.
  5. (Austria) for (amount of money)
    Um einen Euro bekommt man heute nicht besonders viel.You can't buy much for one euro these days.
    Heute im Sonderangebot um nur 99 Euro.Special offer today for only 99 euros.

Derived terms

Conjunction

um (introduces a zu-clause)

  1. in order to, so as to
    Wir sind gekommen, um zu helfen.
    We’ve come (in order) to help.

Adjective

um (indeclinable, predicative only)

  1. (predicative, not attributive) up, in the sense of finished
    Werden dich in kurzem binden/ Erdgeist, deine Zeit ist um
    We will shortly bind you/ Erdgeist, your time is up
    (Friedrich von Hardenberg, Novalis)

Adverb

um

  1. around, about
  2. turned over, changed, from one state to another

Derived terms

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

Preposition

um (+ accusative)

  1. around
    Ich hon mich en Duch um de Kopp gebunn.
    I've tied a towel around my head.
  2. at, by (when relating to time)
    Um acht Uher.
    At eight o'clock.

Derived terms

Adverb

um

  1. around, about
    Das kost um zweu hunnerd Rëal.
    This costs around two hundred reais.

Further reading

Icelandic

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Norse um, from Proto-Germanic *umbi (around, about).

Adverb

um

  1. used in set phrases
    Það er um að gera að sofa vel.
    The important thing to do is to sleep well.
    Hvað er um að vera?
    What's going on?
    Eins og um var talað.
    As was agreed.

Derived terms

Preposition

um

  1. about, concerning
    Um hvað ertu að tala?
    What are you talking about?
    Spurning um líf og dauða.
    A question of life and death.
  2. through, around, across
    Áin rennur um dalinn.
    The river runs through the valley.
    Að fara út um gluggann.
    To go out through the window.
    Vestur um haf.
    West across the sea.
  3. throughout, over, around
    Við förum um alla sveitina.
    We'll go throughout the district.
    Hann var breiður um herðar.
    He was broad across the shoulders.
    Hún hafði klút um hálsinn.
    She had a scarf around her neck.
  4. during, for, in, at
    Hvenær gerðist þetta? - Þetta gerðist um sumarið.
    When did this happen? - It happened during the summer.
    Ég fór um nóttina.
    I went during the night.
  5. approximately, about, around
    Pokinn er um fjögur kíló.
    The bag is around four kilos.

Usage notes

  • Often used with phrases such as "brjóta heilann um".
    Ég er búinn að brjóta heilann um þetta alla nótt!
    I've been racking my brain about this all night!

Derived terms

Indo-Portuguese

Etymology

From Portuguese um (a), from Old Galician-Portuguese ũu, from Latin ūnus, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.

Article

um

  1. a (the indefinite article)
    • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:
      Um homm tinh doiz filh:
      A man had two sons:

Irish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Irish imb, from Proto-Celtic *ambi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (round about, around).

Pronunciation

Preposition

um (plus dative, triggers lenition, except of b, m, and p)

  1. about
  2. at

Inflection

Further reading

Khasi

Etymology

Probably cognate to U ʔóm.

Noun

um

  1. water

References

  • H. Roberts, A Grammar of the Khasi Language

Livonian

Pronunciation

Verb

u'm

  1. first/third-person singular present indicative of vȱlda

Lote

Noun

um

  1. stone

References

Luxembourgish

Contraction

um

  1. contraction of op + dem; on the, at the, to the
  2. contraction of un + dem

Mòcheno

Etymology

From Middle High German umbe, ümbe, from Old High German umbi, from Proto-West Germanic *umbi, from Proto-Germanic *umbi (around, about). Cognate with German um, English umbe.

Preposition

um (+ accusative)

  1. about, around
  2. (time) at
    Um biavle ist s?What time is it? (literally, “How many is it at?”)

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse um.

Pronunciation

Preposition

um

  1. (pre-1938 or dialectal) alternative form of om

References

  • “um” in Ivar Aasen (1873) Norsk Ordbog med dansk Forklaring

Old Norse

Alternative forms

  • umb (older form)

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *umbi (around, about). Cognate with Old English ymbe, Old Frisian umbe, ombe, Old Saxon umbi, Old High German umbi.

Preposition

um

  1. about, concerning
  2. round, past, beyond
  3. over, across, along
  4. during, at a point in time
  5. because of, for

Particle

um

  1. (w:Poetic Edda) indicates that the verbal action is completed, compare English “through” as in “read through”. For semantic development, compare adjectival usage of German um.
    • Vǫluspá, verse 2, lines 1-2, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 1:
      Ek man jǫtna / ár um borna, []
      I remember giants / born long ago,

Descendants

  • Icelandic: um
  • Faroese: um
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: um; (dialectal) om, øm
  • Old Swedish: um
    • Swedish: om
  • Danish: om
    • Norwegian Bokmål: om
      • Norwegian Nynorsk: om

References

  • um”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • um” J. Fritzner (1867) Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, Kristiania: Feilberg & Landmark

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German um, Dutch om, Old English ymb.

Preposition

um

  1. around

Pnar

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *ʔum (tree). Cognate with Khasi um.

Pronunciation

Noun

um

  1. water

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ũmъ.

Pronunciation

Noun

um m inan

  1. (obsolete) mind, reason
    Synonyms: rozsądek, rozum, umysł

Declension

Derived terms

adjectives
noun

Related terms

adjectives
nouns
verbs

Further reading

  • um in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Portuguese numbers (edit)
10
 ←  0 1 2  →  10  → 
    Cardinal: um
    Ordinal: primeiro
    Ordinal abbreviation: 1.º
    Multiplier: único, singular

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese ũu (one; a), from Latin ūnum (one), from Old Latin oinos, from Proto-Italic *oinos, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (one). Doublet of uno.

Pronunciation

  • (file)
  • Rhymes:
  • Hyphenation: um

Numeral

um m (feminine uma)

  1. one
    Uma xícara de caféOne cup of coffee

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

Related terms

Descendants

  • Indo-Portuguese: um
  • Kabuverdianu: un

Article

um (feminine uma, masculine plural uns, feminine plural umas)

  1. (indefinite) a, an
    Um carro, uma casa.A car, a house.
    1. (in the plural) some; a few (a small number of)
      Uns carros, umas casas.A few cars, a few houses.
      Synonym: alguns
    2. (with uncountable nouns) a bit of
      Synonym: um pouco de
    3. (usually in the feminine, pronounced slowly, emphatically and with a high intonation) indicates that what follows is exceptional; quite a; quite the
      Ontem de noite caiu uma chuva.
      We had quite a rain last night.
      Estamos comendo um churrasco.
      We are having the barbecue.
      Synonym: aquele

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

See also

Portuguese articles (edit)
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
Definite articles
(the)
o a os as
Indefinite articles
(a, an; some)
um uma uns umas

Noun

um m (plural uns)

  1. the figure or digit "1": one
    O um parece o sete sem gravata no pescoço.The one looks like the seven with no tie at its neck.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

Pronoun

um m or f (plural uns)

  1. a person; one; someone
    Chegou-me um e disse: "Olá!"One came to me and said: "Hello!"
  2. element(s) of a previously mentioned class: one; some (in the plural)
    Comprei uns e me decepcionei.I bought some and got disappointed.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:um.

Romansch

Etymology

From Latin homō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ (earthling).

Noun

um m (plural umens)

  1. man
    Coordinate term: dunna
  2. husband
    Synonym: (Sutsilvan) cunsort
    Coordinate term: dunna

Sawai

Pronunciation

Noun

um

  1. house

Further reading

  • Donald A. Burquest, Wyn D. Laidig, Phonological Studies in Four Languages of Maluku (1992)

Scots

Pronunciation

Pronoun

um

  1. (South Scots, personal) him

See also

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *umъ.

Pronunciation

Noun

ȗm m (Cyrillic spelling у̑м)

  1. mind
  2. intellect
  3. wit

Declension

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *umъ.

Pronunciation

Noun

um m inan (genitive singular umu, nominative plural umy, genitive plural umov, declension pattern of dub)

  1. mind
  2. intellect
  3. wit

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

  • um”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024