hem

Interjection

1. Used to fill in the gap of a pause with a vocalized sound.
   • "Hem! hem! however there will be a by-place for me behind the stove."1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 195

Noun (1)

hem (plural hems)

1. An utterance or sound of the voice like "hem", often indicative of hesitation or doubt, sometimes used to call attention.
   • his morning hemsJanuary 8, 1712', John Dryden, The Spectator No. 269

Verb (1)

hem (third-person singular simple present hems, present participle hemming, simple past and past participle hemmed)

1. To make the sound expressed by the word hem; to hesitate in speaking.
   • Hem, and stroke thy beard.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
   • “Sit down,” said the young man, gruffly. “He’ll be in soon.”
     I obeyed; and hemmed, and called the villain Juno, who deigned, at this second interview, to move the extreme tip of her tail, in token of owning my acquaintance.1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], chapter II, in Wuthering Heights: […], volume I, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC

Noun (2)

hem (plural hems)

1. The border of an article of clothing doubled back and stitched together to finish the edge and prevent it from fraying.
2. A rim or margin of something.
   • Entombed upon the very hem o' th' seac. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
3. In sheet metal design, a rim or edge folded back on itself to create a smooth edge and to increase strength or rigidity.

Verb (2)

hem (third-person singular simple present hems, present participle hemming, simple past and past participle hemmed)

1. (intransitive) To make a hem.
2. (transitive) To put hem on an article of clothing, to edge or put a border on something.
3. (transitive) To shut in, enclose, confine; to surround something or someone in a confining way.
   • A small yard hemmed about by a tall hedge.
   • He’s in the saddle now. Fall in! Steady, the whole brigade! Hill’s at the ford, cut off — we’ll win his way out, ball and blade! What matter if our shoes are worn? What matter if our feet are torn? “Quick step! We’re with him before the morn!” That’s “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”
     The sun’s bright...1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way

Proper noun capitalized: Hem

Hem (plural Hems)

1. A surname.