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Added 7 October 2026

ham

/ˈhæm/ symbol

In Latin: perna, petasō Wiktionary

symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ham at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

ISO 639-3 language code for Hewa.

noun

The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
A thigh and/or buttock of a hog slaughtered for meat; (occasionally) the corresponding cut from some other animal.
Meat from the thigh and/or buttock of a hog cured for food.
a little piece of ham for the cat

noun

Obsolete form of home.

noun

An overacting or amateurish performer; an actor with an especially showy or exaggerated style.
An amateur radio operator.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-West Germanic *hammu, from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”). Cognate with Dutch ham (“ham”), dialectal German Hamme (“hind part of the knee, ham”), dialectal Swedish ham (“the hind part of the knee”), Icelandic höm (“the ham or haunch of a horse”), Old Irish cnáim (“bone”), Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “shinbone”). Compare gammon and gam.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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