hem
1 (hĕm)
[Middle English, from Old English hem, hemm.]
noun
- An edge or border on a piece of cloth, especially a finished edge, as for a garment or curtain, made by folding an edge under and stitching it down.
- The height or level of the bottom edge of a skirt, dress, or coat; a hemline.
transitive verb: hemmed, hem·ming, hems.
- To fold back and stitch down the edge of.
- To surround and shut in; enclose: a valley hemmed in by mountains. See synonyms at enclose
derivatives
- heḿmer
- noun
hem
2 (hĕm)
[From Middle English heminge, coughing, of imitative origin.]
noun
- A short cough or clearing of the throat made especially to gain attention, warn another, hide embarrassment, or fill a pause in speech.
intransitive verb: hemmed, hem·ming, hems.
- To utter a hem.
- To hesitate in speech.
idioms
- hem and haw
- To be hesitant and indecisive; equivocate: “a leader who cannot make up his or her mind, never knows what to do, hems and haws” (Margaret Thatcher)
