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em-¹

pref.

Variant of en-¹.

em-²

pref.

Variant of en-².

'em

(əm)

pron.
Informal

Them.

[From Middle English hem, em, from Old English him, heom, dative and accusative pl. of hē, he; see HE¹.]

abbr.

1. electromagnetic

2. Engineer of Mines

3. enlisted man

(ĕm)

1. The letter m.

2. Printing

a. The width of a square or nearly square piece of type, used as a unit of measure for matter set in that size of type.

b. Such a measure for 12-point type; a pica.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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