lem

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lem"

Albanian

Alternative forms

• len — dialectal

Etymology

Possibly from a Proto-Albanian *leudno, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“man, people”). Alternatively formed from polem.

Noun

lem m (plural leme, definite lemi, definite plural lemet)

1. people

Declension

Declension of lem

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lem	lemi	leme	lemet
accusative		lemin
dative	lemi	lemit	lemeve	lemeve
ablative			lemesh

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• lemnu

Etymology

From Latin lignum. Compare Daco-Romanian lemn.

Noun

lem n (plural lemi)

1. wood

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German leben, from Old High German lebēn, from Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną (“to live; to be alive”). Cognate with German leben, English live.

Verb

lem (auxiliary håm)

1. (Luserna) to live at, reside

   Moine non lem atz Lusérn. ― My grandparents live in Luserna.

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛmˀ/, [ˈlɛmˀ]
• Rhymes: -ɛmˀ

Etymology 1

From Old Danish lim, from Old Norse limr, from Proto-Germanic *limuz (“branch, limb”), cognate with Norwegian, Swedish lem, English limb, Dutch leem.

Noun

lem n (singular definite lemmet, plural indefinite lemmer)

1. limb (arm or leg in a human or an animal)
2. (formal) penis
3. (dated) inmate (in an institution)

Declension

Declension of lem

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lem	lemmet	lemmer	lemmerne
genitive	lems	lemmets	lemmers	lemmernes

Derived terms

• baglem
• fattiglem
• forlem
• langlemmet
• lemmeløs
• medlem
• sværlemmet

 

References

• “lem,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlemmr, from Proto-Germanic *hlammiz (“noice; lid”), cognate with Norwegian lem, Swedish läm, Old English hlemm, Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌼𐌼𐌰 (hlamma).

Noun

lem c (singular definite lemmen, plural indefinite lemme)

1. hatch
2. trapdoor

Declension

Declension of lem

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lem	lemmen	lemme	lemmene
genitive	lems	lemmens	lemmes	lemmenes

Derived terms

• faldlem
• kattelem
• loftslem

 

References

• “lem,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Galician

Verb

lem

1. (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of ler

Icelandic

Verb

lem (weak)

1. first-person singular present indicative of lemja
2. second-person singular imperative of lemja

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch lijm, from Middle Dutch lijm, from Old Dutch *līm, from Proto-Germanic *līmaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛm]
• Hyphenation: lèm

Noun

lem or lèm

1. glue (any sticky adhesive substance)

   Synonym: perekat

Synonyms

• gam (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)
• perekat (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)

Derived terms

• leman
• mengelem
• pengelem
• pengeleman

 

Further reading

• “lem” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lʲɛmˠ/

Contraction

lem (triggers lenition)

1. (Munster) Contraction of le mo (“with my”).

   Chuir sé cúl orm lem chuid oibre.

   It left me late with my work.

Related terms

Irish preposition contractions

Basic form	Contracted with							Copular forms
	an (“the sg”)	na (“the pl”)	mo (“my”)	do (“your”)	a (“his, her, their; which (present)”)	ár (“our”)	ar (“which (past)”)	(before consonant)	(present/future before vowel)	(past/conditional before vowel)
de (“from”)	den	de na desna*	de mo dem*	de do ded*, det*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
do (“to, for”)	don	do na dosna*	do mo dom*	do do dod*, dot*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
faoi (“under, about”)	faoin	faoi na	faoi mo	faoi do	faoina	faoinár	faoinar		faoinarb	faoinarbh
i (“in”)	sa, san	sna	i mo im*	i do id*, it*	ina	inár	inar		inarb	inarbh
le (“with”)	leis an	leis na	le mo lem*	le do led*, let*	lena	lenár	lenar		lenarb	lenarbh
ó (“from, since”)	ón	ó na ósna*	ó mo óm*	ó do ód*, ót*	óna	ónár	ónar		ónarb	ónarbh
trí (“through”)	tríd an	trí na	trí mo	trí do	trína	trínár	trínar		trínarb	trínarbh
*Dialectal.

Livonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *lämbin. Akin to Finnish lämmin.

Adjective

lem

1. warm

Middle English

Noun

lem

1. Alternative form of leme

Middle Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l͈ʲeβ̃/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish lem, from Proto-Celtic *limos (compare Welsh llwyf, from a variant *lēmos), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁élem (“mountain elm”); compare Latin ulmus.

Noun

lem m (genitive lim)

1. elm tree

   Synonym: lemán

Etymology 2

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃lemH- (“weak, broken, soft”).

Adjective

lem

1. soft, tender
2. weak, powerless
3. impotent (in sexual sense)
4. foolish, worthless

Descendants

• Irish: leamh

Mutation

Middle Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
lem	unchanged	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 lem (‘elm tree’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 lem (‘soft’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Mòcheno

Etymology 1

From Middle High German leben, from Old High German lebēn, from Proto-West Germanic *libbjan, from Proto-Germanic *libjaną (“to live; to be alive”). Cognate with German leben, English live.

Verb

lem

1. to live

Etymology 2

From Middle High German leben, from Old High German lebēn (noun), from the verb. Cognate with German Leben.

Noun

lem n

1. life

References

• “lem” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lɛm]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse limr, from Proto-Germanic *limuz (“branch, limb”) (compare English limb).

Noun

lem (definite singular lemmen or lemen, indefinite plural lemmar or lemmer or lemar or lemer, definite plural lammane or lemmene or lemane or lemene)

1. limb
2. member
3. (euphemistic) penis

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlemmr, from Proto-Germanic *hlammiz, as also Icelandic hlemmur.

Noun

lem m (definite singular lemmen, indefinite plural lemmar, definite plural lemmane)

1. hatch
2. trapdoor

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lem

1. inflection of lemja:
   1. present
   2. imperative
2. imperative of lema and lemma

References

• “lem” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• mel

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse limr, from Proto-Germanic *limuz (“branch, limb”) (compare English limb).

Noun

lem c

1. a limb (major appendage of a human or animal)
3. a member (penis)

   Synonym: manslem

   1. (colloquial, euphemistic) an organ (penis – see usage notes)
      • 1993, Ronny & Ragge (lyrics and music), “Pökpåsen”, in Let's Pök!‎^[1]:

        Det låg en lapp bredvid min lem. Det stod "Mors, jag har stuckit hem". Pökpåsen är min bäste vän, och tack vare den har jag kvar min lem.

        There was [lay] a note next to my organ [might be the best match for tone here – member sounds a bit too formal even jokingly, and dick a bit too vulgar]. It said, "Ciao, I've gone home." The rubber is my best friend, and thanks to it I still have my organ.

Usage notes

Sometimes used in a more colloquial euphemistic sense in (sense 2), where it could also be translated as organ, dick, manhood, or the like.

Declension

Declension of lem

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	lem	lems
	definite	lemmen	lemmens
plural	indefinite	lemmar	lemmars
	definite	lemmarna	lemmarnas

Related terms

• manslem
• medlem

See also

• kuk
• läm

References

• lem in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• lem in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• lem in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Fula Ordboken

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• nhem

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [lɛm˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [lɛm˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [lɛm˧˧]

Adjective

lem • (淋, 𥋲)

1. smudged, soiled

   Cô Bé Lọ Lem ― Cinderella (literally, “The Soot-smeared Girl”)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• lấm lem
• lem luốc
• lem nhem (từ láy)

 

Volapük

Noun

lem (nominative plural lems)

1. paralysis

Declension

declension of lem

	singular	plural
nominative	lem	lems
genitive	lema	lemas
dative	leme	lemes
accusative	lemi	lemis
vocative 1	o lem!	o lems!
predicative 2	lemu	lemus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in later, non-classical Volapük only

White Hmong

Etymology

From Thai เลี้ยว (líao) ("to turn"), with vowel reduction.

Verb

lem

1. to turn (to change direction of travel)
2. to change direction when driving