um
English
Etymology 1
Onomatopoeic.
Pronunciation
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌm (when stressed, or as a verb)
Interjection
um
- Expression of hesitation, uncertainty or space filler in conversation. See 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.
- (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.
- 1963, Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle, Dell Publishing Co., Inc., page 65:
Verb
um (third-person singular simple present ums, present participle umming, simple past and past participle ummed)
- (intransitive) To make the um sound to express uncertainty or hesitancy.
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.
Etymology 3
A Latin-script rendering of µm.
Pronunciation
- Pronounced as micrometer.
Particle
um
- (representing broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans; may be offensive) An undifferentiated determiner or article: a, the, some etc.; a miscellaneous linking word, or filler with nonspecific meaning.
- He um Growling Bear. He um heap big chief.
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈum]
- Rhymes: -um
East Makian
References
- C. L. Voorhoeve, The Makian Languages and Their Neighbours (1982)
Elfdalian
Faroese
Etymology
From Old Norse umb, from Proto-Germanic *umbi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʊmː/
Preposition
um
German
Etymology
From Middle High German umbe, ümbe, from Old High German umbi, from Proto-Germanic *umbi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”). Central German dialects show regular umlaut; the standard form is from Upper German, where umlaut of -u- was often blocked before labials. Cognate with Luxembourgish ëm, Dutch om, English umbe.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʊm/
audio (Germany) (file) audio (Austria) (file) - Rhymes: -ʊm
Preposition
um (with accusative)
Derived terms
- (um + das) ums
Conjunction
um (introduces a zu-clause)
- in order to, so as to
- Wir sind gekommen, um zu helfen.
- We’ve come (in order) to help.
Adjective
um (not comparable)
- (predicative, not attributive) up, in the sense of finished
- Werden dich in kurzem binden/ Erdgeist, deine Zeit ist um (Friedrich von Hardenberg, Novalis)
- We will shortly bind you/ Erdgeist, your time is up
- Werden dich in kurzem binden/ Erdgeist, deine Zeit ist um (Friedrich von Hardenberg, Novalis)
Icelandic
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Norse um, from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around, about”).
Adverb
um
- 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
- (with accusative) about, concerning
- Um hvað ertu að tala?
- What are you talking about?
- Spurning um líf og dauða.
- A question of life and death.
- (with accusative) 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.
- (with accusative) 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.
- (with accusative) 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.
- (with accusative) approximately, about, around
- Pokinn er um fjórir kíló.
- The bag 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
- ganga um gólf (“to walk up and down the floor, to pace the floor”)
- hver um sig (“each one of them, each in turn, each one on his/her own”)
- hér um bil (“approximately”)
- klukkan ~ um morguninn (“at ~ in the morning”)
- láta e-h um það (“to leave it to s-b”)
- láta sem vind um eyru þjóta/láta eins og vind um eyru þjóta
- um daginn (“the other day”)
- um leið (“straight away”)
- um leið og (“as soon as, at the same time as”)
- um morguninn (“in the morning, in the course of the morning”)
- um nóttina (“during the night”)
- um of (“too much”)
- um tíma/um stundarsakir (“for a while”)
- um það leyti (“at about that time”)
- víða um land (“all over the country”)
- búa um rúmið
- deila um keisarans skegg
- eins og um var talað
- hælast um af
- líta um öxl
- togast á um
- um það bil
- vefja um fingur sér
- vera um megn
Indo-Portuguese
Etymology
From Portuguese um (“a”), from Old Portuguese ũu, from Latin ūnus, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.
Article
um
- a (the indefinite article)
- 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:
- Um homm tinh doiz filh:
- A man had two sons:
- Um homm tinh doiz filh:
- 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:
Irish
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *ambi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʊmˠ/
Inflection
Khasi
References
- H. Roberts, A Grammar of the Khasi Language
Livonian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /um/
Luxembourgish
Norwegian Nynorsk
Old Norse
Alternative forms
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
References
- um in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Portuguese
< 0 | 1 | 2 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : um Ordinal : primeiro | ||
Portuguese Wikipedia article on um |
Alternative forms
- hum (obsolete)
Etymology
From Old Portuguese ũu (“one; a”), from Latin ūnus (“one”), from Old Latin oinos, from Proto-Italic *oinos, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈũ]
- Hyphenation: um
- Rhymes: -ũ
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:um.
Article
um (feminine uma, masculine plural uns, feminine plural umas)
- (indefinite) a, an
- Um carro, uma casa. ― A car, a house.
- 2005, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] (Harry Potter; 6), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 186:
- Tenho um recado para você.
- I have a message for you.
- 2005, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] (Harry Potter; 6), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 361:
- […] disse o professor com um sorrisinho […]
- […] the teacher said with a little smile […]
- (in the plural) some; a few (a small number of)
- Uns carros, umas casas. ― A few cars, a few houses.
- Synonym: alguns
- (with uncountable nouns) a bit of
- Comi uma pipoca antes de dormir.
- I ate a bit of popcorn before going to sleep.
- Synonym: um pouco de
- (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 of use of 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)
- 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 of use of this term, see Citations:um.
Pronoun
um
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:um.
Romansch
Etymology
From Latin homō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ (“earthling”)
Sawai
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /um/
Further reading
- Donald A. Burquest, Wyn D. Laidig, Phonological Studies in Four Languages of Maluku (1992)
Slovak
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *umъ.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈum/
Noun
um m (genitive singular umu, nominative plural umy, genitive plural umov, declension pattern of dub)
Declension
Derived terms
- umový
- umček
References
- um in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk