ham – English verb conjugation

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to ham
Participle: hammed
Gerund: hamming

Cognates

See the 2 cognates of ham

Indicative

Subjunctive

Conditional

Imperative

you	ham
we	Let's ham
you	ham

Indicative

Conditional

Synonyms & Antonyms

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. Uncertain, though it is generally agreed upon that it first appeared in print around the 1880s. At least four theories persist:
2. * It came naturally from the word amateur. Deemed likely by Hendrickson (1997), but then the question would be why it took so long to pop up. He rejects the folk etymology of Cockney slang hamateur because it originated in American English.
3. * From the play Hamlet, where the title character was often played poorly and/or in an exaggerated manner. Also deemed likely by Hendrickson, though he raises the issue that the term would have likely been around earlier if this were case.
4. * From the minstrel's practice of using ham fat to remove heavy black makeup used during performances.
5. * Shortened from hamfatter (“inferior actor”), said to derive from the 1863 minstrel show song The Ham-fat Man. William and Mary Morris (1988) argue that it's not known whether the song inspired the term or the term inspired the song, but that they believe the latter is the case.

Verbs referencing "ham"

Norwegian, nynorsk homma.

Sample Sentences