Etymograph

English

hjem

Hjem comes from Old English hām ‘home’, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down, to settle’, and perhaps ultimately from *tḱey-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to settle, dwell’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-1‘to be lying down, to settle’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóymos1‘village, home’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*haimaz2‘home’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haim3reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150hām2‘home’
  7. Englishtodayhjem2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *haimaz, which cites Kroonen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English hjem
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English ham

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *haimaz, which cites Kroonen‘to settle, dwell’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱey-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *haimaz, which cites Kroonen‘to be lying down, to settle’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóymosWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *haimaz, which cites Kroonen‘village, home’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*haimazWiktionary, English hjem‘home’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*haimWiktionary, Old English hamreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150hāmWiktionary, English hjem‘home’
  7. EnglishtodayhjemWiktionary, English hjem

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to settle, dwell’

post, site, position, situation, positive, purpose, suppose, opponent, compound, propose, expose, impose, consolation, dispose, compose, repository, proponent, exponent, posit, expound, situate, pone, situs, 67 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- ‘to be lying down, to settle’

city, civil, hide, civic, cemetery, coma, citadel, civitas, ceilidh, 31 more

through Proto-Germanic *haimaz ‘home’

hamlet, haunt, homelessness, bohemian, 7 more

through Proto-West Germanic *haim

homeless, homely, 6 more

through Old English hām ‘home’

home, ham, hame, 6 more

Today it means

adv home.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hjem”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *haimaz, Old English 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 *tḱey- / hjem

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