Meanings
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂m̥bʰi“round about, around”
- Proto-Germanic*umbi“around, about, by, near”
- Proto-West Germanic*umbi-
- Old Englishymb-
- Middle Englishum-
- Englishum-
From Middle English um-, umbe-, embe-, from Old English ymb-, ymbe- (“around”), from Proto-West Germanic *umbi-, from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around, about, by, near”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”). Cognate with Dutch om- (“around”), German um- (“around”), Latin amb- (“around, about”), Latin ambi- (“both”), Ancient Greek ἀμφί (amphí, “around, about”), Sanskrit अभि (abhi, “against, about”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
um-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/um-
“um-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/um-. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “um-,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/um-.
Source: um- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.