Part 694

Ham (hm), n. [AS. ham; akin to D. ham, dial. G. hamme, OHG. hamma. Perh. named from the bend at the ham, and akin to E. chamber. Cf. Gammon ham.]

1. (Anat.) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.

2. The thigh of any animal; especially, the thigh of a hog cured by salting and smoking.

A plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams.

Shak.

Ham"a*dry`ad (hm"*dr`d), n.; pl. E. Hamadryads (- dz), L. Hamadryades (- dr"*dz). [L. Hamadryas, -adis, Gr. "Amadrya`s; "a`ma together + dry^s oak, tree: cf. F. hamadryade. See Same, and Tree.]

1. (Class. Myth.) A tree nymph whose life ended with that of the particular tree, usually an oak, which had been her abode.

2. (Zoˆl.) A large venomous East Indian snake (Ophiophagus bungarus), allied to the cobras.

||Ha*ma"dry*as (h*m"dr*s), n. [L., a hamadryad. See Hamadryad.] (Zoˆl.) ||The sacred baboon of Egypt (Cynocephalus Hamadryas).

Ham`a*me"lis (hm`*m"ls), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "amamhli`s a kind of medlar or service tree; "a`ma at the same time + mh^lon an apple, any tree fruit.] (Bot.) A genus of plants which includes the witch-hazel (Hamamelis Virginica), a preparation of which is used medicinally.

Ha"mate (h"mt), a. [L. hamatus, fr. hamus hook.] Hooked; bent at the end into a hook; hamous.

Ha"ma*ted (h"m*td), a. Hooked, or set with hooks; hamate. Swift.

||Ha*ma"tum (h*m"tm), n. [NL., fr. L. hamatus hooked.] (Anat.) See ||Unciform.

Ham"ble (hm"b'l), v. t. [OE. hamelen to mutilate, AS. hamelian; akin to OHG. hamaln to mutilate, hamal mutilated, ham mutilated, Icel. hamla to mutilate. Cf.Hamper to fetter.] To hamstring. [Obs.]

Ham"burg (-b˚rg), n. A commercial city of Germany, near the mouth of the Elbe.

Black Hamburg grape. See under Black. -- Hamburg edging, a kind of embroidered work done by machinery on cambric or muslin; -- used for trimming. -- Hamburg lake, a purplish crimson pigment resembling cochineal.

Hame (hm), n. Home. [Scot. & O. Eng.]

Hame, n. [Scot. haims, hammys, hems, OE. ham; cf. D. haam.] One of the two curved pieces of wood or metal, in the harness of a draught horse, to which the traces are fastened. They are fitted upon the collar, or have pads fitting the horse's neck attached to them.

Ham"el (hm"l), v. t. [Obs.] Same as Hamble.

{ Hame"seck`en (hm"sk`'n), Hame"suck`en (-sk`'n), } n. [AS. hmscn. See Home, and Seek.] (Scots Law) The felonious seeking and invasion of a person in his dwelling house. Bouvier.

Ha"mi*form (h"m*fÙrm), a. [L. hamus hook + -form.] Hook-shaped.

Ham"il*ton pe"ri*od (hm"l*tn p"r*d). (Geol.) A subdivision of the Devonian system of America; -- so named from Hamilton, Madison Co., New York. It includes the Marcellus, Hamilton, and Genesee epochs or groups. See the Chart of Geology.

||Ham`i*nu"ra (hm`*n"r), n. (Zoˆl.) A large edible river fish ||(Erythrinus macrodon) of Guiana.

Ha"mite (h"mt), n.[L. hamus hook.] (Paleon.) A fossil cephalopod of the genus Hamites, related to the ammonites, but having the last whorl bent into a hooklike form.

Ham"ite (hm"t), n. A descendant of Ham, Noah's second son. See Gen. x. 6- 20.

Ham*it"ic (hm*t"k), a. Pertaining to Ham or his descendants.

Hamitic languages, the group of languages spoken mainly in the Sahara, Egypt, Galla, and Som‚li Land, and supposed to be allied to the Semitic. Keith Johnston.

Ham"let (hm"lt), n. [OE. hamelet, OF. hamelet, dim. of hamel, F. hameau, LL. hamellum, a dim. of German origin; cf. G. heim home. √220. See Home.] A small village; a little cluster of houses in the country.