# harm

Pronunciation: US say "HARM" /hɑɹm/; UK say "HAHM" /hɑːm/

## Noun

1. Physical injury, hurt, or damage to a living body.
   - Simple: Hurt or damage done to a person's body.
   - _The medication can cause harm if taken in large doses._
   - _Firefighters shielded the residents from harm during the blaze._
3. Emotional or figurative hurt, affecting feelings or reputation rather than the body.
   - Simple: Hurt to a person's feelings or mind, not their body.
   - _Constant criticism caused lasting harm to her self-esteem._
   - _The rumor did more harm to his reputation than he expected._
4. Detriment or misfortune; a setback that works against someone's interests.
   - Simple: A bad result or loss that affects someone or something.
   - _There is little harm in delaying the decision by a week._
   - _The policy did real harm to small farmers across the region._
5. A thing, force, or influence that causes injury, damage, or loss.
   - Simple: A thing or force that causes hurt, damage, or loss.
   - _The charm was believed to ward off harm of every kind._
   - _He swore to protect them from any harm that might come._

## Verb

2. To impair or damage something, generally a lifeless object rather than a person or animal.
   - Simple: To damage or break something, usually a thing rather than a person.
   - _Salt spray can harm the metal fittings on a boat._
   - _Years of neglect harmed the old building's foundations._

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English harm, from Old English hearm, which goes back to Proto-Germanic *harmaz, meaning harm, shame, or pain. It is related to German Harm, Danish harme (indignation), Icelandic harmur (grief), and Swedish harm (anger).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/harm (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).