-ham

The story

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*hammjan“to pinch, to hem, to enclose”
2. Old English · inherited fromhamm“enclosure”, often specifically “land enclosed by a river”
3. Middle English · inherited from-hamme
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*haim
5. Old English · inherited fromhām“home, farm, estate”
6. Middle English · inherited from-ham
7. English today-ham

From the convergence of two elements: * Middle English -ham, -hame, from Old English hām (“home, farm, estate”), from Proto-West Germanic *haim. Cognate with German -heim and Dutch -hem, and doublet of home. * Middle English -hamme, from Old English hamm (“enclosure”, often specifically “land enclosed by a river”), from the root of Proto-West Germanic *hammjan (“to pinch, to hem, to enclose”).

Words from the same roots