em
The name of the Latin script letter M/m.
Interjection
- a form of hesitant speech, or an expression of uncertainty
- She was abused by, em... David, I think. That was his name, he's a real em... what's the word, narcissist. You should really stay away from him.
Origin
Onomatopoeic. Compare um.
Noun Entry 2
- The name of the Latin script letter M/m.
- It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh." - 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:
- A unit of measurement equal to the height of the type in use.
- Insert here a one-em dash or long dash.
- That the price of work, paid for by letters be advanced from fourpence to fourpence halfpenny per thousand, including English and brevier; and, in leaded matter, the ems and ens at the beginnings and ends of the lines...
- A relative unit of sizing defined in terms of the font size.
Origin
Attested since 1808. In typography, the em is named after the em quadrat (later called em quad), from m quadrat, a metal type used in letterpress typesetting, which is as wide as the point size of the font.
Forms
Derived
3-em space 3-to-the-em space 5-em space 5-to-the-em space emcee em dash em quad em rule em space oh em gee rem
Noun Entry 3
- The name of the letter м/М in Cyrillic alphabets.
Origin
From Russian эм (em), Ukrainian ем (em), etc.
Forms
Pronoun alt of, alternative
- Alternative form of 'em.
Origin
See 'em.
Pronoun gender neutral, nonstandard
- A gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, the objective case of ey or e, equivalent to the singular them and coordinate with him and her.
- If the author uses such notation, it should be up to Em to indicate Eir intentions clearly, but there’s no harm checking first. - 1986 April 1, Michael Spivak, The Joy of TeX: A Gourmet Guide to Typesetting with the...
- I may become quite intimate with someone, spend hours with em every night, and yet not have the slightest idea what eir voice sounds like, or what eir RL body looks, feels, and smells like. - 1997, Steven Shaviro, Doom...
- E invites em to consider how ey represent emselves^([sic]), and in so doing, e focuses eir attention on the ethics that make human relations possible. - 2000, Jane Love, “Ethics, Plugged and Unplugged: The Pegagogy of...
Origin
Coined by Christine M. Elverson by removing the "th" from them, perhaps influenced by the pre-existing em/'em, now often perceived as apheretic forms of them (though originally unrelated).