M

From the Etruscan letter 𐌌 (m, em), from the Ancient Greek letter Μ (M, mu), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤌 (m, mem), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓈖.

• ꟿ (in ancient inscriptions)

M (lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter M):  Ḿḿ  Ṁṁ  Ṃṃ  ᵯ  ᶆ  Ɱɱ  ᴍ  Ｍｍ

An alteration of ⋈, from ∞, an alteration of ↀ, an alteration of Ⓧ, from encircling X (the roman numeral for ten) to indicate the hundredth ten.

• m, DD, dd, ↀ, I̅, i̅, ⅭⅠↃ

M (upper case Roman numeral, lower case m)

1. (Roman numerals) Thousand (1000)
2. The thousandth (1,000th).

M

1. Male, infrequently appended to age.
2. Abbreviation of mega-.
3. (astronomy) Abbreviation of Messier, used in Messier numbers.
4. (biochemistry) Abbreviation of methionine, as established by IUPAC.
5. (chemistry) Abbreviation of molar (one mole of substance per litre of solvent).
6. (mathematical analysis) A generic manifold.
7. (group theory) monster group
8. (music) major
9. (linguistics) mid tone
10. (astronomy) mass of a reference body as a unit of measure

    M_☉ — solar mass; M_🜨 — terrestrial mass; M_J or M_♃ — jovian mass; M_L or M_☾ — lunar mass

11. (usually clothing) medium (the manufactured size)

Because of the potential for confusion, the abbreviation for unit "molar" is usually written in italics (M) or in small caps (ᴍ). M for reference mass is usually written in italics.

• Letter styles
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase versions of M, in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase M in Fraktur

Character=M

Other representations of M:

• (name of letter) IPA^(key): /ɛm/

Audio (UK)

(file)

• Rhymes: -ɛm

M (upper case, lower case m, plural Ms or M's)

1. The thirteenth letter of the English alphabet, called em and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letter; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The ordinal number thirteenth, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called em and written in the Latin script.

Abbreviation.

M (countable and uncountable, plural Ms)

1. Initialism of mother.
2. Initialism of men (sign on toilet door).

   Coordinate term: W

   • 2001, Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections, New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 332:

     From the Kierkegaard Room he lopingly careened through a red-carpeted hallway that had previously vouchsafed him a comfort station but this morning seemed all business, no M or W in sight, just salons and boutiques and the Ingmar Bergman Cinema.

3. Abbreviation of Monday.

   Synonyms: Mon, Mon.

4. Abbreviation of nautical mile.
5. Initialism of million.
6. (entomology) Initialism of media.
7. (usually clothing, singular only) Initialism of medium (the manufactured size or an item of that size).

   Coordinate terms: XXS, XS, S, L, XL, XXL

8. (US, film) A film with the content rating M.
9. (in job listings) Abbreviation of minority.

   EOE M/F/V/H ― equal opportunity employer (minority, female, veteran, handicap)

10. (slang) Initialism of morphine.
    • 1952, Woman's Home Companion, volume 79, page 141:

      [Doctors] always carry narcotic prescription blanks and some M with them. M is morphine.

    • 1956, Jess Stearn, Sisters of the Night: The Startling Story of Prostitution in New York Today, New York: Julian Messner, Inc., page 59:

      “Anyway, when he came out of Patsy's room, I grabbed him by the arm and said, ‘Gee whiz, doc, haven't you got a couple of pills for me—even demerol?’ ” / Willie broke off to explain. “That's a synthetic. We call them demmies. If you can't buy H or M, why, demmies will do the trick.”

    • 1957, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC:

      That night Marylou took everything in the books; she took tea, goofballs, benny, liquor, and even asked Old Bull for a shot of M, which of course he didn’t give her; he did give her a martini.

    • 2009, Larry Harrison, Glimpses of a Floating World, page 142:

      'You were going to get me some M,' she whispered in his ear. […] His friend uses morphine, too.

11. (cricket, in batting figures) the number of minutes a player spent at the crease
12. (cricket, in bowling figures) the number of maiden overs bowled
13. (India, Islam, Internet slang) Initialism of Muslim; mostly used by Hindutva netizens primarily towards Islamist supporters and Muslim militants.

    Coordinate term: H (“Hindu”)

14. Initialism of masochist.
    • 1980 April 5, Brian O'Dell, “Sensuality/Mutuality”, in Gay Community News, page 4:

      In all the sexual encounters I have participated in or know of the "M" sets the limits as to what to get into and how much pain will be applied. And of course if the scene gets too rough the "M" has the right to stop it.

M (plural Messrs or MM)

1. Monsieur.

   Alternative form: M.

   • 1928 May, Paul Morand, “Paris Letter”, in The Dial, volume LXXXIV, number 6, published June 1928, page 508:

     I also advise reading the Merlin of M Jean Prévost, published by the N. R. F., a swift audacious picture of post-war love, treated with the grace of a Crébillon or of a Restif de la Bretonne. I could not recommend too highly the Petite Histoire des Juifs which MM Jean and Jérôme Tharaud have just published with Plon.

The current standard form in French is M., with MM. as the plural.

M

1. (stenoscript) Abbreviation of month.

M

1. (Michigan, roadway) Michigan.

M (not comparable)

1. Initialism of male.

   Coordinate terms: F, X

2. (usually clothing) Initialism of medium (of the manufactured size).

   Coordinate terms: XXS, XS, S, L, XL, XXL

3. Initialism of mature.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

M

1. The seventeenth letter in the Afar alphabet.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, T t, S s, E e, C c, K k, X x, I i, D d, Q q, R r, F f, G g, O o, L l, M m, N n, U u, W w, H h, Y y

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛm/

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Afrikaans alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letter; Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

M (plural M'e, diminutive M'etjie)

1. M

M

1. The thirty-second letter of the Angami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) Ü ü, Üi üi, A a, Ai ai, I i, Ie ie, U u, Uo uo, E e, Ei ei, O o, Ou ou, K k, Kh kh, G g, Ng ng, C c, Ch ch, J j, Jh jh, Ny ny, T t, Th th, D d, N n, Ts ts, Tsh tsh, Dz dz, P p, Ph ph, B b, M m, Pf pf, Bv bv, Y y, Yh yh, R r, Rh rh, L l, Lh lh, F f, V v, W w, Wh wh, S s, Sh sh, Z z, Zh zh, H h

M upper case (lower case m)

1. The nineteenth letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) hərf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ə ə, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, X x, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, Q q, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

• IPA^(key): /eme/, [e̞.me̞]

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Basque alphabet, called eme and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• /m/ is from West Germanic *m.

• IPA^(key): /m/

M

1. A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
2. A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

From English menstruation or menstrual cycle.

M

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, colloquial) menstruation
2. (Hong Kong Cantonese, colloquial) menstrual cycle
3. (Hong Kong Cantonese, colloquial) menses; menstrual blood

M

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, colloquial) to menstruate; to have a period

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

M

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang) to nab; to take without asking

From English M or English metre.

M

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) metre

From English M, meg (“megabyte”).

• MB

M

1. (computing, informal) megabyte

• G (“gigabyte”)

M

1. The thirteenth letter of the Latin alphabet.

M

1. The third letter used in Pinyin.

• 《汉语拼音方案》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
• The pronunciation above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other context (such as English).
• The official pronunciation defined in 《汉语拼音方案》, ㄝㄇ (ê̄m), is not a valid syllable in Pinyin.

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛm/

• Audio

  (file)

M (capital, lowercase m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Dutch alphabet.

• Previous letter: L
• Next letter: N

• ᛘ, M (Dalecarlian runes)

M (upper case M, lower case m)

1. The sixteenth letter of the Elfdalian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /mo/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /m/

• Audio

  (file)

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The sixteenth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called mo and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, Ĉ ĉ, D d, E e, F f, G g, Ĝ ĝ, H h, Ĥ ĥ, I i, J j, Ĵ ĵ, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, R r, S s, Ŝ ŝ, T t, U u, Ŭ ŭ, V v, Z z

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Estonian alphabet, called emm and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) täht; A a, B b (C c), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Š š, Z z, Ž ž, T t, U u, V v (W w), Õ õ, Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü (X x, Y y)

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and M for information on the development of the glyph itself.

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called äm or em and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

M

1. Abbreviation of magna cum laude approbatur.
2. Abbreviation of mies (“man, male”).

M

1. Abbreviation of maidoton (“milk-free, dairy-free”) (e.g. in restaurant menus).

The abbreviations G, L, VL and M are the most common of their kind seen in restaurant menus. Other abbreviations are also seen, but not as standardized. Most menus contain a list of the abbreviations they use, including the four common ones.

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

M (lowercase m)

1. the thirteenth letter of the French alphabet, preceded by L and followed by N

• IPA^(key): /ʔɛm/

• Audio

  (file)

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the German alphabet.

M f (genitive M, no plural)

1. (historical, East Germany) Abbreviation of Mark der DDR.

   Coordinate term: DM

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈm]
• (letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈɛmː]

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called emm and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.

• IPA^(key): /m/

M (lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛm/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /m/

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Indonesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) huruf; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈɛm.me/
  • Rhymes: -ɛmme
• (phonemic realization) IPA^(key): /m/

M f or m (invariable, upper case, lower case m)

1. The eleventh letter of the Italian alphabet, called emme and written in the Latin script.

M

1. down with

   Antonym: W (“up with”)

• (Latin-script letters) lettera; A a (À à), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Πî, J j, K k), L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v (W w, X x, Y y), Z z
• Italian alphabet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

From the initial letter of English medium.

M(エム) • (emu) 

1. medium size

• 中(ちゅう) (chū)

• L (L)
• S (S)

From the initial letter of English masochism; compare English S&M.

M(エム) • (emu) 

1. (sexuality, euphemistic) masochism, masochist
2. (colloquial) submissive personality

• S(エス) (esu)

• ドM(エム) (do-emu)

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and M for development of the glyph itself.

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Kashubian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ą ą, àã, B b, C c, D d, E e, É é, Ë ë, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, O o, Ò ò, Ó ó, Ô ô, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ù ù, W w, Y y, Z z, Ż ż

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

• IPA^(key): [m]

M

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The twentieth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called em and written in the Latin script.

• Letters of the Latvian alphabet:

  burti: Aa, Āā, Bb, Cc, Čč, Dd, Ee, Ēē, Ff, Gg, Ģģ, Hh, Ii, Īī, Jj, Kk, Ķķ, Ll, Ļļ, Mm, Nn, Ņņ, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Šš, Tt, Uu, Ūū, Vv, Zz, Žž

• (Name of letter) IPA^(key): [ɛm]
• (Phoneme) IPA^(key): [m]

M

1. The thirteenth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /m/, IPA^(key): /ŋ/

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The sixteenth letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) banki; A a (Á á, À à), B b, C c, D d, Dz dz, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì), J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, Ts ts, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v, W w, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the history of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and M for development of the glyph itself.

• IPA^(key): /m/

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Polish alphabet, called em and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ą ą, B b, C c, Ć ć, D d, E e, Ę ę, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, Ń ń, O o, Ó ó, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Ś ś, T t, U u (V v), W w (X x), Y y, Z z, Ź ź, Ż ż

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The thirteenth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à,  â, àã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ê ê), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ô ô, Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• IPA^(key): /m/

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. (International Standard) The seventeenth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
2. (Pan-Vlax) The eighteenth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

• IPA^(key): /m/

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The sixteenth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called em, me, or mî and written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ă ă,  â, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Πî, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Ș ș, T t, Ț ț, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

• IPA^(key): /m/, /mʼ/

M

1. The twentieth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A, Á, Ⱥ, B, C, Ć, Ȼ, D, E, H, I, Í, J, K, Ꝁ, Ꝃ, ₭, Ḵ, Ḱ, L, Ƚ, M, N, Ṉ, O, P, Q, S, Ś, T, Ⱦ, Ṯ, Ŧ, U, W, W̱, X, X̱, Y, Z, s, ,

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The eleventh letter of the Scottish Gaelic alphabet, written in the Latin script. It is preceded by l and followed by n. Its traditional name is muin (“vine”).

• (Latin-script letters) litir; A a (À à), B b (Bh bh), C c (Ch ch), D d (Dh dh), E e (È è), F f (Fh fh), G g (Gh gh), H h, I i (Ì ì), L l, M m (Mh mh), N n, O o (Ò ò), P p (Ph ph), R r, S s (Sh sh), T t (Th th), U u (Ù ù)
• (diacritics) ◌̀
• (obsolete vowels) Á á É é Ó ó

The Silesian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Silesian language article on Wikipedia for more, and M for development of the glyph itself.

M (upper case, lower case m)

1. The sixteenth letter of the Silesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) A a, àã, B b, C c, Ć ć, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, Ń ń, O o, Ŏ ŏ, Ō ō, Ô ô, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Ś ś, T t, U u, W w, Y y, Z z, Ź ź, Ż ż

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /m/

M (lower case m)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• (Latin-script letters) bukva; A a,  â, B b, C c, Č č, Ʒ ʒ, Ǯ ǯ, D d, Đ đ, E e, F f, G g, Ǧ ǧ, Ǥ ǥ, H h, I i, J j, K k, Ǩ ǩ, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, O o, Õ õ, P p, R r, S s, Š š, T t, U u, V v, Z z, Ž ž, Å å, Ä ä, ʹ

• IPA^(key): /ɛm/

M (capital, lowercase m)

1. The 14th letter of the Slovene alphabet. Preceded by L and followed by N.

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /m/
• (letter name): IPA^(key): /miːm/

M upper case (lower case m)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Somali alphabet, called miim and written in the Latin script.

1. The eighteenth letter of the Somali alphabet, which follows Arabic abjad order. It is preceded by L and followed by N.

• (Latin-script letters) ʼ, B b, T t, J j, X x, Kh kh, D d, R r, S s, Sh sh, Dh dh, C c, G g, F f, Q q, K k, L l, M m, N n, W w, H h, Y y, A a, E e, I i, O o, U u