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definitions

hem

1
[hem]
See more synonyms for hem on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), hemmed, hem·ming.
  1. to fold back and sew down the edge of (cloth, a garment, etc.); form an edge or border on or around.
  2. to enclose or confine (usually followed by in, around, or about): hemmed in by enemies.
noun
  1. an edge made by folding back the margin of cloth and sewing it down.
  2. the edge or border of a garment, drape, etc., especially at the bottom.
  3. the edge, border, or margin of anything.
  4. Architecture. the raised edge forming the volute of an Ionic capital.

Origin of hem

1
before 1000; Middle English hem(m), Old English hem, probably akin to hamm enclosure; see home
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hem in

hinder, inhibit, set, bar, lessen, reduce, curb, narrow, specify, define, prevent, confine, detain, subdue, suppress, kill, deter, restrict, hamper, govern
British Dictionary definitions for hem in

hem

1
noun
  1. an edge to a piece of cloth, made by folding the raw edge under and stitching it down
  2. short for hemline
verb hems, hemming or hemmed (tr)
  1. to provide with a hem
  2. (usually foll by in, around, or about) to enclose or confine

Word Origin for hem

Old English hemm; related to Old Frisian hemme enclosed land

hem

2
noun, interjection
  1. a representation of the sound of clearing the throat, used to gain attention, express hesitation, etc
verb hems, hemming or hemmed
  1. (intr) to utter this sound
  2. hem and haw or hum and haw to hesitate in speaking or in making a decision
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hem in

hem

v.

late 14c., "to provide (something) with a border or fringe" (surname Hemmer attested from c.1300), from hem (n.). Related: Hemmed; hemming. The phrase hem in "shut in, confine," first recorded 1530s.

hem

n.

Old English hem "a border," especially of cloth or a garment, from Proto-Germanic *hamjam (cf. Old Norse hemja "to bridle, curb," Swedish hämma "to stop, restrain," Old Frisian hemma "to hinder," Middle Dutch, German hemmen "to hem in, stop, hinder"), from PIE *kem- "to compress." Apparently the same root yielded Old English hamm, common in place names (where it means "enclosure, land hemmed in by water or high ground, land in a river bend"). In Middle English, hem also was a symbol of pride or ostentation.

If þei wer þe first þat schuld puplysch þese grete myracles of her mayster, men myth sey of hem, as Crist ded of þe Pharisees, þat þei magnified her owne hemmys. [John Capgrave, "Life of Saint Gilbert of Sempringham," 1451]

hem

interj.

late 15c., probably imitative of the sound of clearing the throat. Hem and haw first recorded 1786, from haw "hesitation" (1630s; see haw (v.)); hem and hawk attested from 1570s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with hem in

hem in

see fence in.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.