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Spam

//ˈspæm// name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative form of spam (“tinned meat product”). alt-of, alternative

    "During World War II, of course, I ate my share of SPAM along with millions of other soldiers."

  2. 2
    Alternative form of spam (tinned meat product) alt-of, alternative
Noun
  1. 1
    Unsolicited bulk electronic messages. Internet, countable, rare, uncountable

    "I get far too much spam."

  2. 2
    unwanted e-mail (usually of a commercial nature sent out in bulk) wordnet
  3. 3
    Any undesired electronic content automatically generated for commercial purposes. Internet, uncountable

    "An Act to provide for the control of spam, which is unsolicited commercial communications sent in bulk by electronic mail or by text or multi-media messaging to mobile telephone numbers, and to provide for matters connected therewith."

  4. 4
    a canned meat made largely from pork wordnet
  5. 5
    Excessive, often unwanted and repeated online messages. Internet, countable, uncountable
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    Ellipsis of spam account. Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
  2. 7
    A large quantity or multitude of anything done repetitively or considered unusually or indiscriminately repetitive. broadly, countable, often, uncountable
  3. 8
    A type of tinned meat made mainly from ham. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages.) Internet, intransitive

    "Transformed by programming ineptitude into a monster of Frankenstein proportions, it broke loose on the night of March 31, 1993 and proceeded to spam news.admin.policy with something on the order of 200 messages in which it attempted, and failed, to cancel its own messages."

  2. 2
    send unwanted or junk e-mail wordnet
  3. 3
    To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic messages) to a person or entity. Internet, transitive
  4. 4
    To send messages repeatedly, often with disruptive effect; to flood. Internet, intransitive, transitive
  5. 5
    To do something rapidly and repeatedly. broadly, transitive

    "Stop spamming that special attack!"

Etymology

Etymology 1

The original sense (canned ham) is a proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 1937. It is presumed to be a conflation of either "spiced ham" or "shoulder of pork and ham" but was soon extended to other kinds of canned meat. Hormel spells the trademarked name in all upper case. The use for unsolicited and unwanted email derives from a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch. In the 1970 sketch, a group of Vikings in a restaurant repeatedly chant the word "spam". The earliest recorded real-life use for this sense occurs around 1993 which finds reference in a newsgroup post dated March 31, 1993, but the term may have been in use on "Multi-User Dungeons" (MUDs) in the 1980s.

Etymology 2

The original sense (canned ham) is a proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 1937. It is presumed to be a conflation of either "spiced ham" or "shoulder of pork and ham" but was soon extended to other kinds of canned meat. Hormel spells the trademarked name in all upper case. The use for unsolicited and unwanted email derives from a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch. In the 1970 sketch, a group of Vikings in a restaurant repeatedly chant the word "spam". The earliest recorded real-life use for this sense occurs around 1993 which finds reference in a newsgroup post dated March 31, 1993, but the term may have been in use on "Multi-User Dungeons" (MUDs) in the 1980s.

See also for "spam"

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