modem

See also: Modem, MoDem, módem, and mòdem

English

Etymology

Clipping of modulator-demodulator.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈməʊdəm/, /ˈməʊdɛm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: mō'dəm, mō'dĕm, IPA^(key): /ˈmoʊdəm/, /ˈmoʊdɛm/

Noun

modem (plural modems)

1. (computing) A device that encodes digital computer signals into analog telephone signals and vice versa, allowing computers to communicate over a phone line.
   • 1996, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest […], Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 416:

     Choose and rent, over PC and modem and fiber-optic line, from tens of thousands of second-run films, documentaries, the occasional sport, old beloved non—‘Happy Days’ programs, wholly new programs, cultural stuff, and c. […]

Derived terms

• cable modem
• fax modem
• Linmodem
• modemless
• nonmodem
• null modem
• radio modem
• smartmodem
• softmodem
• USB modem
• Winmodem
• wireless modem

Descendants

Descendants

• → Armenian: մոդեմ (modem)
• → Catalan: mòdem
• → Dutch: modem
• → Esperanto: modemo
• → Finnish: modeemi
• → French: modem
• → German: Modem
• → Hebrew: מודם (módem)
• → Hungarian: modem
• → Ido: modemo
• → Japanese: モデム (modemu)
• → Korean: 모뎀 (modem)
• → Norman: modem
• → Polish: modem
• → Portuguese: modem
• → Russian: моде́м (modém)
• → Serbo-Croatian:
  • Cyrillic script: модем
  • Latin script: modem
• → Spanish: módem
• → Swedish: modem
• → Turkish: modem
• → Vietnamese: modem

Translations

device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals

• Afrikaans: modem
• Albanian: modem m
• Arabic: مُودِم m (mūdim), مُودِم m (modem)
• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܘܿܕܹܡ m (mōdēm)

• Armenian: մոդեմ (hy) (modem)
• Azerbaijani: modem
• Belarusian: мадэ́м m (madém)
• Bengali: মডেম (moḍem)
• Bulgarian: модем m (modem)
• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: mòdem (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 調制解調器 / 调制解调器 (zh) (tiáozhìjiětiáoqì), 數據機 / 数据机 (shùjùjī)

• Czech: modem (cs) m
• Dutch: modem (nl) m or n
• Esperanto: modemo
• Estonian: modem (et)
• Finnish: modeemi (fi)
• French: modem (fr) m
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: modem, oerset

• Georgian: მოდემი (modemi)
• German: Modem (de) n
• Greek: διαποδιαμορφωτής (el) m (diapodiamorfotís), μοντέμ (montém)
• Hebrew: מוֹדֶם (he) m (módem)
• Hindi: मॉडेम (mŏḍem)
• Hungarian: modem (hu)
• Indonesian: modem (id)
• Italian: modem (it) m
• Japanese: モデム (ja) (modemu)
• Kazakh: модем (modem)
• Khmer: ម៉ូដឹម (km) (moodəm)
• Korean: 모뎀 (modem)
• Kyrgyz: модем (modem)
• Lao: ໂມເດັມ (mō dem)
• Latvian: modems m
• Lithuanian: modemas m
• Low German:

  German Low German: Modem n, Toonwandler m

• Macedonian: мо́дем m (módem)
• Malay: modem (ms)
• Māori: pouwhanga
• Mongolian: модем (modem)
• Norman: modem m (Jersey)
• Persian: مودم (fa) (môdem)
• Polish: modem (pl) m
• Portuguese: modem (pt) m
• Romanian: modem (ro) n
• Russian: моде́м (ru) m (modɛ́m)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мо̀де̄м m

  Latin: mòdēm (sh) m

• Slovak: modem m
• Slovene: modem (sl) m
• Spanish: módem (es) m, modem (es) m
• Swahili: modemu (sw)
• Swedish: modem (sv) n
• Tajik: модем (modem)
• Tatar: модем (modem)
• Thai: โมเด็ม (moh-dem)
• Turkish: modem (tr)
• Turkmen: modem
• Ukrainian: моде́м m (modém)
• Urdu: موڈیم (moḍem)
• Uzbek: modem
• Vietnamese: modem (vi), bộ điều giải
• Yiddish: מאָדעם (modem)

Verb

modem (third-person singular simple present modems, present participle modeming or modemming, simple past and past participle modemed or modemmed)

1. To transmit by modem.
   • 1992, Jim Kimble, How to get started with modems, page 73:

     Personal modeming is most prevalent in the U.S., where a modem generally doesn't have huge taxes slapped on it, and after-tax income is comparatively high.

   • 1994, Carole Marsh, Jurassic Ark! Alaska Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures, page 7:

     “Books” can even be faxed or modemed to you!

   • 1996, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest […], Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 19:

     He had to modem in to the agency and say that there was an emergency […]

Anagrams

• domme, ommed

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmoːdəm/, /ˈmoːdɛm/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

modem m or n (plural modems, diminutive modempje n)

1. modem

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔ.dɛm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

modem m (plural modems)

1. modem

Descendants

• Turkish: modem

Hungarian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English modem. 

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmodɛm]
• Hyphenation: mo‧dem
• Rhymes: -ɛm

Noun

modem (plural modemek)

1. (computer hardware) modem

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	modem	modemek
accusative	modemet	modemeket
dative	modemnek	modemeknek
instrumental	modemmel	modemekkel
causal-final	modemért	modemekért
translative	modemmé	modemekké
terminative	modemig	modemekig
essive-formal	modemként	modemekként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	modemben	modemekben
superessive	modemen	modemeken
adessive	modemnél	modemeknél
illative	modembe	modemekbe
sublative	modemre	modemekre
allative	modemhez	modemekhez
elative	modemből	modemekből
delative	modemről	modemekről
ablative	modemtől	modemektől
non-attributive possessive – singular	modemé	modemeké
non-attributive possessive – plural	modeméi	modemekéi

Possessive forms of modem

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	modemem	modemeim
2nd person sing.	modemed	modemeid
3rd person sing.	modeme	modemei
1st person plural	modemünk	modemeink
2nd person plural	modemetek	modemeitek
3rd person plural	modemük	modemeik

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmodəm/ [ˈmo.dəm]
• Rhymes: -odəm
• Syllabification: mo‧dem

Noun

modem (plural modem-modem)

1. (computing) modem

Derived terms

• modem eksternal
• modem faks
• modem internal
• modem kabel
• modem koneksi langsung
• modem serat

Further reading

• “modem”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

modem m (invariable)

1. modem

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• (Literary Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈmodem/ [ˈmo.dem]
  • Rhymes: -odem

• (Southern Peninsular Malaysia Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈmodəm/ [ˈmo.dəm] (English-based, colloquial)
  • Rhymes: -odəm
• Hyphenation: mo‧dem

Noun

modém (Jawi spelling مودم, plural modem-modem)

1. (computing) modem

Derived terms

• modem akustik
• modem dalaman
• modem data
• modem faks
• modem jalur asas
• modem jalur lebar
• modem luaran
• modem panggil balik
• penyisih modem

Further reading

• "modem" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "modem" at PRPM first version)

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Noun

modem m (plural modems)

1. (Jersey, computing) modem

Polish

modemy

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *med-

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *médos

Proto-Italic *medos

Latin modus

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-e-lós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Latin -ulus

Latin modulus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -or, -ārī

Latin modulor

▲

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos

Proto-Italic *-ātos

Latin -ātuslbor.

English -ate

English modulate

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin -ātor

Old French -eorbor.

Middle English -our

▲

Latin -torlbor.

English -or

English modulatorclip.

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-der.

English de-

▲

English modulate

English demodulate

▲

English -or

English demodulatorclip.

English modembor.

Polish modem

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.dɛm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔdɛm
• Syllabification: mo‧dem

Noun

modem m inan (related adjective modemowy)

1. modem (device that encodes digital computer signals into analog telephone signals and vice versa, allowing computers to communicate over a phone line)

Declension

Declension of modem

	singular	plural
nominative	modem	modemy
genitive	modemu	modemów
dative	modemowi	modemom
accusative	modem	modemy
instrumental	modemem	modemami
locative	modemie	modemach
vocative	modemie	modemy

Further reading

• “modem”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “modem”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)
• modem in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *med-

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *médos

Proto-Italic *medos

Latin modus

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-e-lós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Latin -ulus

Latin modulus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -or, -ārī

Latin modulor

▲

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos

Proto-Italic *-ātos

Latin -ātuslbor.

English -ate

English modulate

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin -ātor

Old French -eorbor.

Middle English -our

▲

Latin -torlbor.

English -or

English modulatorclip.

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-der.

English de-

▲

English modulate

English demodulate

▲

English -or

English demodulatorclip.

English modemubor.

Portuguese modem

Unadapted borrowing from English modem.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmo.dẽj̃/ [ˈmo.dẽɪ̯̃]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.dɛm/ [ˈmɔ.ðɛm]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.dɛm/ [ˈmɔ.ðɛm]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.dɛm/

Noun

modem m (plural modems or modens)

1. (networking, computer hardware) modem (a device that encodes computer signals into telephone signals and vice versa)

Further reading

• “modem”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “modem”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *med-

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *médos

Proto-Italic *medos

Latin modus

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-e-lós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Latin -ulus

Latin modulus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -or, -ārī

Latin modulor

▲

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos

Proto-Italic *-ātos

Latin -ātuslbor.

English -ate

English modulate

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin -ātor

Old French -eorbor.

Middle English -our

▲

Latin -torlbor.

English -or

English modulatorclip.

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-der.

English de-

▲

English modulate

English demodulate

▲

English -or

English demodulatorclip.

English modembor.

Romanian modem

Borrowed from English modem.

Noun

modem n (plural modemuri)

1. modem

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	modem	modemul	modemuri	modemurile
genitive-dative	modem	modemului	modemuri	modemurilor
vocative	modemule		modemurilor

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mǒdeːm/
• Hyphenation: mo‧dem

Noun

mòdēm m inan (Cyrillic spelling мо̀де̄м)

1. modem

Declension

Declension of modem

	singular	plural
nominative	mòdēm	modemi
genitive	modéma	modema
dative	modemu	modemima
accusative	modem	modeme
vocative	modeme	modemi
locative	modemu	modemima
instrumental	modemom	modemima

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *med-

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *médos

Proto-Italic *medos

Latin modus

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-e-lós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Latin -ulus

Latin modulus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -or, -ārī

Latin modulor

▲

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos

Proto-Italic *-ātos

Latin -ātuslbor.

English -ate

English modulate

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin -ātor

Old French -eorbor.

Middle English -our

▲

Latin -torlbor.

English -or

English modulatorclip.

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-der.

English de-

▲

English modulate

English demodulate

▲

English -or

English demodulatorclip.

English modemubor.

Spanish modem

Unadapted borrowing from English modem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmodem/ [ˈmo.ð̞ẽm]
• Rhymes: -odem
• Syllabification: mo‧dem

Noun

modem m (plural modems)

1. alternative form of módem

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “modem”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Noun

modem n

1. modem

Declension

Declension of modem

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	modem	modems
	definite	modemet	modemets
plural	indefinite	modem	modems
	definite	modemen	modemens

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• mô đêm

Etymology

Borrowed from English modem.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [mo˧˧ ʔɗem˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [mow˧˧ ʔɗem˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [mow˧˧ ʔɗem˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: mô đêm

Noun

modem

1. modem