Umm
/ʌm/noun
An informal interjection used to indicate hesitation, uncertainty, or a pause while speaking.
Did you know?Unlike most words, “umm” is generally considered an imitative hesitation sound rather than a term inherited from an ancient lexical root.
Etymological Timeline
Prehistoric speech
Proto-speech
*əm
“A hesitation or vocal pause reconstructed only tentatively from recurring human speech behavior; no certain ancestral form is known.”
Middle English
English
hem
“An interjection used to attract attention or express hesitation, related in function to later hesitation sounds.”
18th Century
English
um
“A recorded English hesitation interjection used when pausing or searching for words.”
19th Century
English
umm
“An increasingly common spelling variant representing a prolonged or repeated “um” sound.”
Modern English
English
umm
“An informal written representation of hesitation, uncertainty, or a conversational pause.”