item

From Middle English item, from Latin item (“also; in the same manner”). The present English meaning derives from a usage in lists, where the first entry would begin in primis (“firstly”) or imprimis, and the other entries with item (“also, moreover”). Later, the members of lists were referred to as "items".

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪ.təm/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪ.təm/, [ˈaɪ̯.ɾəm], [ˈaɪ̯.ɾm̩]

  • Audio (California):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɑe.təm/, [ˈɑe̯.ɾəm], [ˈɑe̯.ɾm̩]
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪ.təm/, [ˈɑe̯.ɾəm], [ˈɑe̯.ɾm̩]
• Hyphenation: i‧tem

item (plural items)

1. A distinct physical object.

   Tweezers are great for manipulating small items.

   • 2013 July 26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects   […] ”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32:

     The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters  […] . But the priciest items in the market aren't the armadillo steaks or even the bluefin tuna.

2. (by extension, video games) An object that can be picked up for later use.
3. A line of text having a legal or other meaning; a separate particular in an account.

   the items in a bill

   In response to the first item, we deny all wrongdoing.

   • 2001, David L. Lieber and Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 1143:

     Beyond being mere items of a legal code, they [the mitzvot] are the very basis of the relationship that God and the people Israel have established.

4. (psychometrics) A question on a test, which may include its answers.

   The exam has 100 items, each of which includes a correct response and three distractors.

5. A matter for discussion in an agenda.

   The first item for discussion is the budget for next year's picnic.

6. (informal) Two people who are having a romantic or sexual relationship with each other.

   Jack and Jill are an item.

   • 2010, Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris, Baby:

     Are we an item? Girl, quit playin' / "We're just friends," what are you sayin'?

8. A short article in a newspaper.

   an item concerning the weather

9. (obsolete) A hint; an innuendo.
   • 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):

     A secret item was given to some of the bishops […] to absent themselves.

10. (India) Ellipsis of item girl.
    • 2017, Nandita Chaudhary, Pernille Hviid, Giuseppina Marsico, Resistance in Everyday Life: Constructing Cultural Experiences, page 246:

      In this chapter, we will attempt to trace the course of initiation into the classical arts, from the self-taught gyrations of Bollywood items to the serious rigours of a classical Indian dance form.

• (object): article, object, thing
• (line of text having a legal or semantic meaning):
• (matter for discussion): subject, topic
• (two people who are having a relationship with each other): couple
• (psychometrics): test/assessment question

item (third-person singular simple present items, present participle iteming, simple past and past participle itemed)

1. (transitive) To make a note of.

• itemize

item (not comparable)

1. likewise

• METI, EMT-I, it me, time, emit, Mite, mite, -time

• IPA^(key): [ˈɪtɛm]

item

1. (archaic) as well

   Synonyms: také, rovněž, dále, kromě toho

   Jedná se o zdravý všelék proti bolestem a item proti závrati. ― It's a healthy universal cure for pain and also for vertigo.

• “item”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “item”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Borrowed from English item.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑjtəm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: item

item n (plural items, diminutive itempje n)

1. item (matter of discussion)

   Synonyms: thema, onderwerp, kwestie, issue

   Tijdens de vergadering was de recente wateroverlast een van de belangrijkste items.

   During the meeting, the recent flooding was one of the most important items.

2. item (specific object)

   Ieder item heeft een QR-code die de klant informatie geeft over de fabriek, kostprijs en marges.

   Each item has a QR code that gives the customer information about the factory, cost price and margins.

• IPA^(key): /i.tɛm/

  • Audio (France (Lyon)):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛm

Borrowed from Latin item.

item

1. (obsolete) same; in the same way
2. (obsolete) in addition

Borrowed from English item.

item m (plural items)

1. item (line of text in a grouping, list)
2. (psychometrics) item (of a questionnaire, test)
3. (video games) item (collectable object)

• “item”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Learned borrowing from Latin item. Doublet of item.

• IPA^(key): /ˈi.tem/^[1]
• Rhymes: -item
• Hyphenation: ì‧tem

item

1. (law) in the same way

Borrowed from English item, from Latin item. Doublet of item.

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.i.tem/^[1]
• Rhymes: -aitem

item m (invariable)

1. (computer science) a single programmed unit
2. (linguistics) an element of a grammatical or lexical set

• mite, temi

Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *éy and *só. Compare ita and itidem.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɪ.tẽː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈiː.tem]

item (not comparable)

1. just like (in a comparison)
   • c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 5.4.9–11:

     hegio: Salvē, exoptāte gnāte mī. tyndarus: Hem, quid 'gnāte mī'?
     Attat, sciō quor tē patrem assimules esse et mē fīlium:
     quia mī item ut parentēs lūcis dās tuendī cōpiam.

     hegio: Hello, my wished-for son. tyndarus: Huh, what 'my son'?
     Alas, I know why you act as if you were a father and I your son:
     because you give me the means to see the light, just like parents do.

   • 46 BCE, Cicero, Orator 60:

     Ita fit ut nōn item in ōrātiōne ut in versū numerus exstet, idque quod numerōsum in ōrātiōne dīcitur nōn semper numerō fīat, sed nōnnunquam aut concinnitāte aut cōnstructiōne verbōrum.

     So it turns out that there isn't a metre in prose just like in verse, and that which in oration is called 'metrical' is not always caused by metre, but also on occasion by the euphony and construction of the words.

2. likewise, also, further
   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 4.25:

     Hōs item ex proximīs prīmī nāvibus cum cōnspēxissent, subsecūtī hostibus appropīnquārunt.

     When the lead [soldiers] from the nearest ships had caught sight of [the Tenth Legion entering the battle], likewise these [men] followed and approached the enemy.

• → French: item
• → Middle English: item
  • English: item
  • Scots: eetem
• → Portuguese: item

• “item”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "item", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “item”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Learned borrowing from Latin item.

• IPA^(key): /ˈiːtɛm/

item

1. also, and this

• “item, adv. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 25 April 2018.

item

1. the same; identical.

• English: item
• Scots: eetem

• “item, adv. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 25 April 2018.

Latin.

item

1. same; in the same way

Learned borrowing from Latin item.

item

1. same; in the same way

• Middle French: item
  • French: item

Learned borrowing from Latin item (“also; in the same manner”).

• Hyphenation: i‧tem

item m (plural itens)

1. item
2. a matter for discussion in an agenda or elsewhere

   O primeiro item a considerar é o orçamento para o próximo piquenique.

   The first point to consider is the budget for the next picnic.

3. a line of text with some meaning

   Consideremos um item de cada vez.

   Let's look at one item at a time.

• “item”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Anglicism (English item).

item m (plural itemi)

1. item

• it. (abbreviation)

Borrowed from Latin item (“just like”), attested since 1628.

item

1. (obsolete) also, as well

   Synonyms: likaså, jämväl, vidare

   • 1847 July 24, Sophie von Knorring, Bref till hemmet‎^[1]:

     Jag blef helt ond och ändå mera E., som är en förklarad hundvän, item hund-advokat, som du väl mins.

     I became wholly mad, and even more E., who are a declared dog friend, as well as dog advocate, as you might well remember.

• dito (“ditto”)

item c

1. an item on a list or agenda; a number; an item in bookkeeping

   Synonym: post

2. (obsolete) additional circumstance, additional item of concern
   • 1864, Johan Magnus Rosén, Hvad man minst väntar‎^[2]:

     Olsson profvade; men det var ingen, som passade rigtigt. — Så är det väl bäst du beställer en och låter ta mått, — sade Berg och tilläde, vände sig till hattmakarn: — Men det är ett lite item här, farbror! Det är fråga om kredit; [...]

     Olsson tried, but there were none, which fit really. — So it is best you order and let measures be taken, — said Berg and added, turned to the hat maker: — But there is a small additional matter of concern here, sir! It is a question about credit; [...]

• item in Nordisk Familjebok, Uggleupplagan
• “item”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)