sam-
Danish
Prefix
sam-
- co-, con-
Derived terms
Faroese
Etymology
From Old Norse sam-. Related to the adjective samur.
Prefix
sam-
- co-, fellow, collective
- homo-
Derived terms
Garo
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Classifier
sam-
- classifier for bilateral body parts like eyes and ears.
Icelandic
Prefix
sam-
- co-, fellow, collective
- homo-
Derived terms
- samfangi
- samhjálp
- samlínuleiki
- samskeiða
- sammótun (homomorphism)
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Old Norse sam-, related to samme.
Prefix
sam-
- (generally) co-
Derived terms
References
- “sam-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
- “sam-” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Old Norse sam-, related to same.
Prefix
sam-
- (generally) co-
Derived terms
References
- “sam-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *sāmi-, from Proto-Germanic *sēmi-, from Proto-Indo-European *sēmi-. Cognate with Old Saxon sām-, Old High German sāmi-. Compare semi-.
Since the i-umlaut of /ɑ̃:/ is /e:/ and unstressed short high vowels were lost after a heavy syllable, the expected outcome would have been *sēm- (sometimes *sem-; see below). Two developments interfered. First, lack of i-umlaut shows that the final *-i was replaced with *-a in this prefix, perhaps by analogy with its synonym *halba- (later healf-). Second, the root vowel shows shortening, since without i-umlaut the regular outcome of /ɑ̃:/ is /o:/:
- brōhte ‘(s)he brought’
- brōm ‘broom’ (the plant)
- cōmon ‘they came’
- fōn ‘to catch’
- ġeōmor ‘miserable’
- glōm ‘twilight’
- hōh ‘heel’
- hōn ‘to hang’
- mōna ‘moon’
- mōnaþ ‘month’
- nōmon ‘they took’
- ōht ‘chase’
- sōna ‘immediately’
- spōn ‘wood chip’
- tōh ‘tough’
- þō ‘clay’
- þōhte ‘(s)he thought’
- wōh ‘crooked, wrong’
In most compounds of sam- this shortening is expected, since a prehistoric sound change shortened long vowels before (1) clusters of three consonants, (2) two consonants plus two syllables, or (3) geminates. This shortening could have been eliminated by leveling in many cases (there is no way to know how often, as Old English manuscripts do not normally mark vowel length), but it was apparently maintained in sam-. Words with shortening by regular sound change include sambærned (“half-burnt”), *samblind (“half-blind”), samboren (“born early”), samcwic (“half-dead”), samlǣred (“half-educated”), samlocen (“half-closed”), sammelt (“half-digested”), samsoden (“half-cocked”), samweaxen (“adolescent”), and swā forþ. From these words and from some inflected forms, the short vowel must have spread by analogy to e.g. samġeong (“adolescent”), samhāl (“unwell”), samwīs (“dumb”), and samworht (“half-finished”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑm/
Prefix
sam-
- (literally) half-
- (figuratively) partially
Descendants
- Middle English: sam-
- English: sam
Etymology 2
From Proto-Germanic *samaz (“together”), from Proto-Indo-European *somHós (“same”), Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, together”). Compare Old English samen (“together”), Old English same (“manner, similitude”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑm/
Prefix
sam-
- union, combination, agreement; together, con-
- samheort ― unanimous, "same-hearted"
Derived terms
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *samaz (“same, alike”), from Proto-Indo-European *somHós.
Prefix
sam-
- together, con-
Derived terms
Descendants
- Icelandic: sam-
- Faroese: sam-
- Norwegian Nynorsk: sam-
- Norwegian Bokmål: sam-
- Swedish: sam-
- Danish: sam-
Swedish
Prefix
sam-
- together, co-, con-
- Antonym: sär-
Derived terms
- samåka
- sambeskatta
- samfund
- samförstånd
- samhörighet
- samnordisk
- samröre
- samspråk
- samstämmig
- samtycke
- samvälde
See also
- samla
- samma
- samman
- sams
References
- sam- in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- sam- in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- sam- in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
Anagrams
- mas
Tagalog
Alternative forms
- sang-
- san-
Etymology
See sang-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsam/, [ˈsam]
Prefix
sam-
- alternative form of sang-, with roots that begin with (b) or (p).