ham

Meaning

1. The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.
2. A thigh and buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat.
3. Meat from the thigh of a hog cured for food.
4. The back of the thigh.
5. (informal) Electronic mail that is wanted; mail that is not spam or junk mail.

gammon

ham actor

amateur radio operator

back of the knee

dark meat

ground round

top of the thigh

proximal segment

popliteal space

swine’s flesh

boarp

leg of mutton

leg of veal

lowbrow

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhæm/

From Middle English hamme, from Old English hamm (“inner or hind part of the knee, ham”), from Proto-Germanic *hamō, *hammō, *hanmō, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”). Cognate with Dutch ham (“ham”), dialectal German Hamme (“hind part of the knee, ham”), dialectal Swedish ham (“the hind part of the knee”), Icelandic höm (“the ham or haunch of a horse”), Old Irish cnáim (“bone”), Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, “shinbone”). Compare gammon.