Hem

Table of contents

1 interjection 2 verb 2.1 transitive 2.2 intransitive 3 noun 3.1 Related terms: 3.2 See also:

interjection

Etymology:

A sound uttered in imitation of clearing the throat

1. used to fill in the gap of a pause with a vocalized sound.

verb

transitive

1. to put hem on an article of clothing, to edge or put a border on something
2. to surround something or someone in a confining way

intransitive

1. in sewing to make a hem
2. in speaking to make a sound like hem (usually coupled with "haw" as in "hemmed and hawwed")

noun

Etymology:

From Middle English in turn from Old English and related to Middle

High German hemmen meaning "to hem in".

1. the border of an article of clothing doubled back and stitched together
2. a rim or margin of something
3. someone who is afraid of change to the point of total inaction. (From a book by Spencer Johnson, M.D., Who moved my cheese, about a character who was always against change.)

Related terms:

• hemmed
• hemming
• hemmer

See also:

• haw