æþm

Old English

Alternative forms

• ǣðm, ēþm, ēðm

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *āþm, from Proto-Germanic *ēþmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₁tmén.

Cognate with Old High German ātum (German Atem), Old Saxon āthom, Old Frisian ethma, Sanskrit आत्मन् (ātmán, “soul; self; essence”), Dutch adem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æːθm/, [æːðm]

Noun

ǣþm m

1. breathing
2. breath
3. vapour
   • Caedmon's metrical paraphrase

     ...And ǣrest āmet ufan tō grunde and hū sīd sē swarta ēðm sēo.

     ...and first measure from above to its ground, how wide the black vapour is.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	ǣþm	ǣþmas
accusative	ǣþm	ǣþmas
genitive	ǣþmes	ǣþma
dative	ǣþme	ǣþmum

Related terms

• ēþian (“to breathe”)

Descendants

• Middle English: ethem