Dem

See also: Appendix:Variations of "dem"

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɛm/
  • Rhymes: -ɛm

Noun

Dem (plural Dems)

  1. (US politics) Clipping of Democrat.

Derived terms

See also

Anagrams

Albanian

Proper noun

Dem m (definite Demi)

  1. a male given name

Declension

Declension of Dem
singular
indefinite definite
nominative Dem Demi
accusative Demin
dative/ablative Demi Demit

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɛm/, [d̥ɛm] or IPA(key): /dəm/, [d̥m̩], [b̥m̩]

Pronoun

Dem

  1. (personal, formal) you (object pronoun: the person being addressed)

See also

Danish personal pronouns
Number Person Type Nominative Oblique Possessive
common neuter plural
Singular First – jeg mig min mit mine
Second modern / informal du dig din dit dine
formal (uncommon) De Dem Deres
Third masculine (person) han ham hans
feminine (person) hun hende hendes
common (noun) den dens
neuter (noun) det dets
indefinite man en ens
reflexive – sig sin sit sine
Plural First modern vi os vores
archaic / formal vor vort vore
Second – I jer jeres
Third – de dem deres
reflexive – sig

Dutch

Etymology

First attested as Dem in 1936. Derived from Limburgish dem (“dam”). Named after a complex of workers' barracks.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɛm/
  • Hyphenation: Dem
  • Rhymes: -ɛm

Proper noun

Dem n

  1. a neighbourhood of Heerlen, Limburg, Netherlands

References

  • van Berkel, Gerard; Samplonius, Kees (2018), “Dem”, in Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard‎[1] (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

PIE word
*só

The object and reflexive form of De, whose polite use is a semantic loan from German Sie (“you; polite form of address”). The inherited third-person form dem (“them”) was accordingly used for polite second-person address.

The underlying form is inherited from Old Norse þeim (“them; those”), originally a dative plural, from Proto-Germanic *þaimaz, from Proto-Indo-European *tóymos, the masculine and neuter dative plural of *só (“this; that”). The former dative came to serve as the general object form.

Compare Danish Dem (“you; polite form of address”). The underlying third-person form is cognate with Danish dem, Swedish dem, Icelandic þeim, Faroese teimum, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐌼 (þaim, “them”) and English them.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɛm/, [dɛmː]
  • Rhymes: -ɛm
  • Homophone: dem
  • Hyphenation: Dem

Pronoun

Dem (nominative De, possessive Deres)

  1. (formal) you; the polite second-person singular object form corresponding to De, used as a direct or indirect object or after a preposition.
    Jeg så Dem på toget i går. ― I saw you on the train yesterday.
    Kan jeg hjelpe Dem med kofferten? ― May I help you with your suitcase?
    Dette brevet er til Dem. ― This letter is for you.
    • 1873, Arne Garborg, Mogning og manndom: brev, volume I, published 1954, page 25:
      jeg kan ikke beskrive Dem, hvor glad jeg er ved at vide, at De har følt Dem opmuntret og styrket
      I cannot tell you how glad I am to know that you have felt encouraged and strengthened.
    • 1911, Amalie Pettersen, Pettersens, page 181:
      bli’ Medlem, De Maren, det kan være lærerigt for Dem ogsaa
      Become a member, Maren; it could be instructive for you too.
    • 1918, Gunnar Heiberg, Samlede dramatiske verker, volume III, page 172:
      tro De paa mig som jeg har trodd paa Dem
      Believe in me as I have believed in you.
    1. you; used predicatively after a copular verb.
      Er det Dem, fru Berg? ― Is that you, Mrs Berg?
      • 1882, Henrik Ibsen, En folkefiende‎[2], act 1, page 2:
        Nej se, godaften; er det Dem?
        Oh, good evening; is that you?
  2. (formal, reflexive) yourself; referring back to De, including as the reflexive element of a verb.
    De må skynde Dem. ― You must hurry.
    Sett Dem her, fru Berg. ― Sit here, Mrs Berg.
    Dem selv — yourself, often for emphasis.
    De må ta vare på Dem selv. ― You must take care of yourself.
    • 1892, Henrik Ibsen, Bygmester Solness‎[3], act 2, page 131:
      Sæt De Dem nu bare ned igen, Hilde. Så skal De få høre løjer.
      Just sit down again, Hilde. Then you shall hear something amusing.
    • 1896, Henrik Ibsen, John Gabriel Borkman‎[4], act 1, page 61:
      Træk pent yderfrakken på Dem, Erhart Borkman!
      Put your overcoat on properly, Erhart Borkman!
    • 1918, Gunnar Heiberg, Samlede dramatiske verker, volume III, page 239:
      De har vist Dem min tillid værdig
      You have proved yourself worthy of my trust.
    1. (rare) yourselves; referring back to plural De.
      Mine damer og herrer, sett Dem gjerne ned. ― Ladies and gentlemen, please sit down.
      • 1877, Arne Garborg, Den ny-norske Sprog- og Nationalitetsbevægelse‎[5], page 155:
        […] saa vil De ogsaa finde saa mange Ikke-Analogier, at De atter vil kunne trøste Dem.
        […] you will also find so many dissimilarities that you will again be able to console yourselves.
  3. (formal, rare) you; the polite second-person plural object form, used to address several people.
    Mine damer og herrer, jeg vil gjerne takke Dem alle. ― Ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank you all.
    • 1874, Henrik Ibsen, Peer Gynt‎[6], 3rd edition, act 4, page 135:
      Gå De til Hellas. Jeg skal sende
      Dem gratis væbnede iland.
      Go to Greece. I shall put you ashore there armed and free of charge.
    • 1877, Arne Garborg, Den ny-norske Sprog- og Nationalitetsbevægelse‎[7], page 155:
      Jeg vil kun faa Dem til at se: 1) at Sligt som nationale Sprogkampe ikke er noget udelukkende norsk Fænomen, som Mange af Dem tror, […]
      I only wish to make you see: 1) that national language struggles are not an exclusively Norwegian phenomenon, as many of you believe, […].
  4. (dialectal) you; the polite second-person subject pronoun, used in place of De.
    Kan Dem hjelpe meg? ― Can you help me?
    • 1874, Harald Meltzer, Politinotitser, page 53:
      der kan Dem bare høre, fuldmægtig
      There, you can hear for yourself, deputy.
    • 1936, Sfinx, Kjent folk gjennem årene‎[8], page 139:
      Ja nå kommer ’e så an på da, om Dem vil ha di ophengt enten som hos stasministers Blehrses heller som hos redaktørs Thommessens.
      Well, it depends, then, whether you want them [the curtains] hung as at Prime Minister Blehr’s or as at editor Thommessen’s.

Usage notes

  • Dem is always capitalized in polite address, as are De and Deres. Lowercase dem normally means “them”.
  • Dem is used reflexively with De, including when the subject is understood in an imperative. Third-person seg is not used as the reflexive form of polite De.
  • De, Dem and Deres are much less common than formerly. The ordinary forms du, deg and din are neutral even in official communication. Modern guidance recommends dere when addressing several people.[1]
  • De is the subject form in standard written Bokmål. Subject Dem occurs in dialectal speech and its literary representation.

See also

Norwegian Bokmål personal pronouns
Number Person Type Nominative Oblique Possessive
masculine feminine neuter plural
Singular First – jeg meg min mi mitt mine
Second general du deg din di ditt dine
formal (rare) De Dem Deres
Third masculine (person) han ham / han hans
feminine (person) hun henne hennes
masculine (noun) den dens
feminine (noun)
neuter (noun) det dets
reflexive – seg sin si sitt sine
Plural First – vi oss vår vårt våre
Second general dere deres
formal (very rare) De Dem Deres
Third general de dem deres
reflexive – seg sin si sitt sine

References

  1. ^ “Høflighetsformene De, Dem og Deres”, Språkrådet.
  • “de” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
  • “de” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

Anagrams

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