Etymologically
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um

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is imitative,[2] a natural utterance first recorded in English in the early 17th century in NODE.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A sound of hesitation or inarticulate utterance: 1672 in the OED and MWU, the 1670s in Etymonline.[4][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Hesitation or doubt in replying to another is from 1777,[4] and assent from 1913, when it is also used as a verb, to hesitate in speech.[4]

Timeline

  • 1672 – hesitation.[4]
  • 1777 – doubt in replying.[4]
  • 1913 – assent; the verb.[4]

Modern meaning

Interjection

  1. A sound used to show doubt or to fill a pause when hesitating in speech.

Usage notes

A different um, common in 17th-century writing, is a form of 'em and of hem, them,[4] and dialect um, him or them, is recorded across England by the EDD.[4][6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)