Etymograph

English

ham

Ham comes from Middle English hamme ‘the back or inside of the knee’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m ‘leg’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kónh₂m1‘leg’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hamō1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hammu1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hamm1‘inner or hind part of the knee, ham’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hamme1‘the back or inside of the knee’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1931ham1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English ham
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride: “I'll have you so your hams will stand out…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kónh₂mWiktionary, English ham‘leg’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hamōWiktionary, English hamreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hammuWiktionary, English hamreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hammWiktionary, English ham‘inner or hind part of the knee, ham’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hammeWiktionary, English ham‘the back or inside of the knee’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1931hamWiktionary, English ham. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride: “I'll have you so your hams will stand out…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m

Today it means

noun The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ham”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m / ham

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