*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of mem

From Phoenician 𐤌𐤌 (mm /⁠mem⁠/, “water”), from Proto-Semitic *maʾ- (“*maʾ-/*may-”). Doublet of mu.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

The thirteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Phoenician 𐤌𐤌 (mm /⁠mem⁠/, “water”), from Proto-Semitic *maʾ- (“*maʾ-/*may-”). Doublet of mu.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phn",
        "3": "𐤌𐤌",
        "4": "",
        "5": "water",
        "sc": "Phnx",
        "ts": "mem"
      },
      "expansion": "Phoenician 𐤌𐤌 (mm /⁠mem⁠/, “water”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sem-pro",
        "3": "*maʾ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "*maʾ-/*may-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Semitic *maʾ- (“*maʾ-/*may-”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mu"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of mu"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "𐤌𐤌",
      "𐤌𐤌#Phoenician"
    ],
    [
      "*maʾ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/maʾ-"
    ],
    [
      "mu",
      "mu#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The thirteenth letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others)."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "3fbd9998e8d9b8ca2efdf384457bb28f4fa32d06d68d4d0e2b6e12c27cea0aaa",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9e9c2782511e6503653e846711da9b37b556aaeaa0c0bf90def62a40ca4dd2fd",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 245148
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Clipping of memory. · A memory access as part of processing.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of memory.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "memory"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of memory"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "memory",
      "memory#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Clipping of memory.",
        "A memory access as part of processing."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "clipping",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "e108b764561943d39ebb24007adc59748df71e2e515c6e18163af64b91e05a07",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f5db241a4f025e2b5f4faa659754c706f9514f3f205118818e80fcbff5fad161",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 245149
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A white European woman, especially the wife of an official; a memsahib. · Alternative form of ma'am.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Hindi मेम (mem, “wife of a colonial official; a white woman”), originally from English ma'am.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionमेमhi · wife of a colonial official; a white woman
  • Derivation mentionma'amen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi",
        "3": "मेम",
        "t": "wife of a colonial official; a white woman"
      },
      "expansion": "Hindi मेम (mem, “wife of a colonial official; a white woman”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "en",
        "3": "ma'am"
      },
      "expansion": "English ma'am"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "मेम",
      "मेम#Hindi"
    ],
    [
      "ma'am",
      "ma'am#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A white European woman, especially the wife of an official; a memsahib.",
        "Alternative form of ma'am."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "South-Asia",
        "historical",
        "India",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "b66dde9b4478299c9c076b5f58c9825015a26e408635b98894a46a556968a091",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1a5f4bce919c478c220eb00b5f7bc38c3cbbdd3b39045cb073d87dbfbaee44d2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 245150
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for mem →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bWVt