ham

¹

[ham]

noun

1. a cut of meat from the heavy-muscled part of a hog's rear quarter, between hip and hock, usually cured.

2. that part of a hog's hind leg.

3. the part of the leg back of the knee.

4. Often hams. the back of the thigh, or the thigh and the buttock together.

ham

²

[ham]

noun

1. an actor or performer who overacts.

2. an operator of an amateur radio station.

verb (used with or without object)

hammed, hamming 

1. to act with exaggerated expression of emotion; overact.

Ham

³

[ham]

noun

1. (in the Bible) the second son of Noah.

HAM

⁴

Or ham

[ham]

adverb

Slang.

1. hard as a motherfucker: in an extremely high-energy manner; to an exceptional degree (a euphemistic acronym used as a description of intensity, without explicit vulgarity).

   Nothing can stop me from partying HAM this spring break!

ham

¹

/ hæm /

noun

1. the part of the hindquarters of a pig or similar animal between the hock and the hip

2. the meat of this part, esp when salted or smoked

3. informal

   1. the back of the leg above the knee

   2. the space or area behind the knee

4. needlework a cushion used for moulding curves

ham

²

/ hæm /

noun

1. informal,  theatre

   1. an actor who overacts or relies on stock gestures or mannerisms

   2. overacting or clumsy acting

   3. ( as modifier )

      a ham actor

2. informal

   1. a licensed amateur radio operator

   2. ( as modifier )

      a ham licence

verb

1. informal,  to overact

Ham

1. One of the three sons of Noah. According to the biblical account, Noah and his family were the only human survivors of the great Flood and were therefore the progenitors of all the peoples on Earth.

The “curse of Ham” refers to the biblical story in which Ham, seeing his father drunk and naked, refused to turn away as his two brothers did. When Noah awoke, he cursed Ham and his son Canaan, supposedly causing a darker pigmentation in their descendants. This so-called curse has often been wrongly used to justify racism.

Egypt (see also Egypt) was traditionally called “the Land of Ham,” and Ham was considered to be the ancestor of the Egyptians and of all African peoples south of Egypt.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ham¹

before 1000; Middle English hamme, Old English hamm bend of the knee; cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German hamme, Old High German hamma; akin to Old Norse hǫm buttock; perhaps akin to Greek knḗmē shin, Old Irish cnáim bone

Origin of Ham²

First recorded in 1880–85; short for hamfatter, after The Hamfat Man, a Black minstrel song celebrating an awkward man

Origin of Ham³

From its use in digital communications

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ham¹

Old English hamm; related to Old High German hamma haunch, Old Irish cnāim bone, camm bent, Latin camur bent

Origin of Ham²

C19: special use of _ham ¹ ; in some senses probably influenced by _amateur

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. ham it up, to overact; ham.

2. go HAM, to exhibit optimal energy or enthusiasm; to make a great effort.

   The team went HAM on the final play and mowed down the defense.

Example Sentences

Occasional weird inventions are folded in: a “hambulance” delivering ham; food trucks selling potato ice cream and soup on a stick; something called Pacifier Shirt Syndrome, caused by rubbing a dropped pacifier on a short.

From Los Angeles Times

Her eyes landed on Charcuterie Girl’s crown jewel: a whole leg of ibérico ham in its own bespoke rig.

From Los Angeles Times

Ozzy and Sharon allowed the cameras to roll as they hurled a ham hock into a neighbor’s yard and a log through his window.

From Salon

Sometimes he’d pack an extra ham sandwich to bring to his good friend and co-worker Bryan, who asked to only be identified by his first name because of his immigration case.

From Los Angeles Times

In another unmodern twist in this rescue tale, searchers also got help from ham radio.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hot dog 

When To Use

What else does ham mean?

To go ham is to put in an extraordinary, even aggressive, amount of effort. If you went crazy eating ham, you'd be going ham on some ham. In this sense, ham may stand for hard as a motherf****r.