ham

Ham, the meat, is an Old English word, while ham, an inferior actor, arose in American English in the 1880s, and Word Origins thinks it unlikely to be named after the meat.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhæm/ (UK); /ˈhæm/ (US)^[4]

ham¹ thigh, meat

Etymology

It is Middle English hamme, inherited from Old English hamm (“hollow or bend of the knee”),^[1][2][5] from Proto-Germanic *hammō,^[2] source also of Old Norse hǫm, Middle Dutch hamme and Old High German hamma.^[1][2][6] Its cognates outside Germanic are Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “shin”) and Old Irish cnáim, bone,^[1][2][5] from PIE *konəmā, shin bone.^[2] Hoad and Word Origins connect it instead with a root meaning to be crooked.^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The hollow at the back of the knee: about 1000, in Ælfric's Glossary.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The back of the thigh, and the thigh and buttock together, is from 1552,^[7] and in quadrupeds the hock from 1607.^[7] The thigh of a hog used for food is first recorded probably about 1475 in Barnhart, while the OED and Etymonline date it 1637–50 (the 1630s).^[2][7][1] In Middle English with hammen ifalden, with folded hams, meant kneeling.^[1] Ham-handed, clumsy, is by 1896 and ham-fisted from 1905.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – the back of the knee.^[2]
• c. 1475 – a thigh of pork.^[2]
• 1552 – the back of the thigh.^[7]
• 1896 – ham-handed.^[1]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The thigh of the hind leg of an animal, especially a hog.
2. Meat from this part, especially salted or smoked.
3. (informal) The back of the knee or thigh, or (hams) the buttocks.

Word family

• hamstring
• ham-fisted
• ham-handed

ham² performer

Etymology

It arose in American English in 1882, apparently a shortening of “hamfatter” (1880), an actor of low grade,^[1][2] said since at least 1889 to come from the minstrel-show song “The Ham-fat Man” (attested by 1856).^[1][2] Word Origins suggests a link instead with ham-fisted, or perhaps with amateur.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An inferior actor who overacts: 1882.^[2][1]

Semantic evolution

In boxing slang an incompetent fighter was a ham in 1888.^[1] The notion of amateurishness gave an amateur telegraphist (1919) and an amateur radio operator (1922 in Barnhart, 1919 in Etymonline).^[2][1] The verb, to overact, especially ham it up, is from 1933, and the adjective by 1935.^[1][2]

Timeline

• 1880 – hamfatter.^[2]
• 1882 – ham, a bad actor.^[2]
• 1919 – an amateur telegraphist.^[2]
• 1933 – to ham (it up).^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An actor who overacts, or a performer who exaggerates.
2. A licensed amateur radio operator.

Verb

1. To overact or exaggerate a part.

Related words

• hamlet
• hamfatter
• amateur

Usage notes

Ham in English place names, such as Ham in Surrey, is from Old English hamm, enclosed land,^[5] and Ham, son of Noah, is a Hebrew name.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press