From Middle English harm, herm, from Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm, from Proto-Germanic *harmaz.

• (RP) IPA: /hɑːm/
• (America) IPA: /hɑɹm/

harm

1. Physical injury; hurt; damage.

   No harm came to my possessions.

   You can do a lot of harm to someone if you kick them in the teeth.

2. Emotional or figurative hurt.

   Although not physically injured in the car accident, she received some psychological harm.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:

     And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.

3. Detriment; misfortune.

   I wish him no harm.

4. That which causes injury, damage, or loss.
   • c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene i]:

     We, ignorant of ourselves, / Beg often our own harms.

• French: mal, tort, dommage
• German: Schaden
• Italian: danno, male, ferita
• Portuguese: dano, mal
• Russian: вред
• Spanish: daño

• Italian: danno, svantaggio
• Portuguese: mal

harm (harms, present participle harming; simple past and past participle harmed)

1. To damage, hurt, or injure something, usually an inanimate object.

• French: nuire à, faire du mal à
• German: schaden
• Italian: danneggiare, ferire, far male, nuocere
• Portuguese: ferir, fazer mal, afligir, machucar
• Russian: вреди́ть
• Spanish: dañar