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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

ahem en · INTJ

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /əˈhɛm/

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Meanings

  1. (onomatopoeic) The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat.
  2. Demanding attention.
    • Ahem! Could we please get started?
    • Enter Nobody, and the Clowne. / Nobody. Ahem boy, Nobody is ſound yet for all his troubles. [1606], No-body, and Some-body. […], [London]: […] [James Roberts] for Iohn Trundle […], signature D2, verso:
  3. Expresses disapproval or annoyance.
    • Ahem! In case you didn't notice, I did my share of the work, too.
  4. Indicates the speaker does not wish to be perceived as rude, often intimating an impolite meaning to a third party that the speaker is not addressing. ▸ Indicates subtle sarcasm, polite lying, or euphemism.
    • I really (ahem!) liked the chocolate broccoli surprise.
  5. Indicates the speaker does not wish to be perceived as rude, often intimating an impolite meaning to a third party that the speaker is not addressing. ▸ Indicates an unintentional or inappropriate pun.
    • The tone of Fat is casual and ahem, digestible, while also providing a succinct and significant overview of fatness and some of the issues most relevant to the burgeoning field of fat studies. 2020 December 15, Jenna M. Wilson, “Fat by Hanne Blank, Bloomsbury Academic, 2020”, in Fat Studies, volume 10, number 2, →DOI, pages 205–207:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
ehem alternative lexicographic

Synonyms

tut tut (expression of disapproval) · hey (exclamation to get attention)

Translations (20)

fi kröhöm (exclamation or cough to get attention) · tl tikhim (onomatopoeia) · vi e hèm (onomatopoeia) · el γκουχ (onomatopoeia) · cs ehm (exclamation or cough to get attention) · fi öhöm (exclamation or cough to get attention) · cs ehm (onomatopoeia) · ja エヘン (exclamation or cough to get attention) · ja げほげほ (onomatopoeia) · ja ゴホン (onomatopoeia) · fi köh (exclamation to indicate sarcasm) · es ejem (exclamation or cough to get attention) · tl tikhim (exclamation or cough to get attention) · tl ehem (onomatopoeia) · ja コホン (onomatopoeia) · vi e hèm (exclamation or cough to get attention) · fi öhöm (exclamation of disapproval or annoyance) · el γκούχου (onomatopoeia) · fi kröhöm (onomatopoeia) · fi öhöm (exclamation to indicate sarcasm)

ahem en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /əˈhɛm/

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Meanings

  1. To cough or clear one's throat so as to draw attention.
    • He wouldn't have been suspected of crying for the world, but he coughed and ahemmed, and finally turned away without speaking. 1856, Louise Chandler Moulton, Juno Clifford, page 108:
    • A full inspiration, preparatory to hawking, ahemming, or premeditated careful coughing, would excite an explosion of an unusually violent and persistent cough, hurrying the breath out of the poor victims. 1858, The Peninsular and Independent Medical Journal, page 153:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
ahems Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
ehem alternative lexicographic
ahemmed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
ahemmed Tense=Past lexicographic
ahemming Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic