I. ˈhem pronoun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English him, heom, dative of hīe they — more at he
1. dialect : them
2. obsolete : themselves
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hem, hemm, from Old English; akin to Old Norse hemja to hem in, restrain, Old Frisian hemma to hinder, Middle High German hemmen to hem in, restrain, hamen to hem in, restrain, Armenian kamel to press, squeeze, Russian kom lump, ball
1.
a. : a finished edge of a cloth article (as a skirt, sleeve, curtain, napkin, stocking) made by rolling or folding back an edge and stitching it down
b. : an edge usually folded back and fastened down on articles of sheet metal, plastic, rubber, leather
2.
a. : border
bright green hem of reeds about the ponds — R.M.Lockley
b. : edge
hem of the sea — Shakespeare
the polar hem — Emily Dickinson
3. : the raised rim of a volute of an Ionic capital
III. verb
( hemmed ; hemmed ; hemming ; hems )
Etymology: Middle English hemmen, from hem, hemm, n.
transitive verb
1.
a. : to finish with a plain or decorative hem
hemmed just above the ankle — Women's Wear Daily
b. : border , edge
2. : to enclose or confine with or as if with a ring around or arc before usually preventing or hindering access, free activity, growth, or escape — usually used with in
body of water, hemmed in on all sides by evergreen forests — American Guide Series: New Hampshire
the regiment now found itself hemmed in by its own mine fields — P.W.Thompson
intransitive verb
: to make hems in sewing
Synonyms: see surround
IV. intransitive verb
( hemmed ; hemmed ; hemming ; hems )
: to utter the sound represented by hem
hemmed ominously as he always did when he was about to relieve his mind — W.A.White
— often used with haw
hem and haw and put it off, apparently in the hope that things will pick up — Clifford Aucoin
hemmed and hawed, and then pointed out that the trouble was obviously connected with our consignment — F.W.Crofts
V. “; as an interjection a throat-clearing sound noun
( -s )
Etymology: imitative
: a vocalized pause in speaking
after clearing the husk in his throat with two or three hems — T.L.Peacock
: an instance of uttering this sound
would use a peculiar rap at the door, and give four loud hems — Oliver Goldsmith
— often used interjectionally to call attention, to warn, or to express hesitation or doubt; compare hum III
VI.
archaic and dialect
variant of him
VII.
dialect England
variant of hame
VIII.
variant of heme