'em
Pronunciation
- enPR: əm, IPA: /əm/, /m̩/, /ɪm/
Origin
From earlier hem, from Middle English hem, from Old English heom ("them", dative.), originally a dative plural form but in Middle English coming to serve as an accusative plural as well. Cognate with Dutch hun ("them"), German ihnen ("them").
Full definition of 'em
Pronoun
'em
- (now colloquial) Them (typically after a preposition, or otherwise with accusative or dative force; now only in unstressed position).
- 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVI:‘Lette hem be,’ seyde Sir Gawayne, ‘for they foure have no peerys.’
- 1602, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night:Some are become great, some atcheeues greatnesse, and some haue greatnesse thrust vppon em.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 1, Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting ’em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.
- 2010, John Baron, The Guardian, 3 Dec 2010:We've literally had dozens of your photographs submitted this week – keep ’em coming!