Etymology of ham radio
Encyclopedia
Ham is an informal term for an amateur radio operator
, and, by extension, "ham radio" refers to amateur radio
in general. This use of the word first appeared in the United States during the opening decade of the 20th century—for example, in 1909 Robert A. Morton reported overhearing an amateur radio transmission which included the comment: "Say, do you know the fellow who is putting up a new station out your way? I think he is a ham." However, the term did not gain widespread usage in the United States until around 1920, after which it slowly spread to other English-speaking countries.
word meaning "incompetent", most commonly in the phrase "ham actor".)
Early radio (initially known as wireless telegraphy
) included many former wire telegraph operators, and within the new service "ham" was employed as a pejorative
term by professional radiotelegraph operators to suggest that amateur enthusiasts were unskilled. In "Floods and Wireless" by Hanby Carver, from the August, 1915 Technical World Magazine, the author noted "Then someone thought of the 'hams'. This is the name that the commercial wireless service has given to amateur operators..."
Even among amateur radio operators, the term was used pejoratively at first by serious experimenters. For example, in December 1916 QST
magazine, an amateur operator working on long distance message passing describes one way to avoid interference was to send messages "...on Thursday nights, when the children and spark coil 'hams' are tucked up in bed" (a spark coil was an unsophisticated radio transmitter, made from an automobile ignition coil, that produced noisy interference).
But only a few months later, in an indication of the changing use of the term among amateurs, a QST
writer uses it in a clearly complimentary manner, saying that a particular 16 year old amateur operator "...is the equal of a ham gaining five years of experience by hard luck."
Use of "ham" as a slur by professionals continued, however. A letter from a Western Union Telegraph Company employee, printed in the December, 1919 edition QST
, showed familiarity with the word's negative connotations, expressing concern that "Many unknowing land wire telegraphers, hearing the word 'amateur' applied to men connected with wireless, regard him as a 'ham' or 'lid'".
But many other amateurs increasingly adopted the word "ham" to describe their hobby and themselves during this period, embracing the word that was originally an insult, similar to the way Yankee Doodle
evolved, as seen, for example, in Thomas F. Hunter's exuberant "I am the wandering Ham" from the January, 1920 issue of QST
.
, and sending style is referred to as an operator's "fist", so someone who sends badly could be called ham-fisted. But the earliest references to "ham" use only the single word, and there is no evidence that it evolved as a truncation of a longer phrase.
student Albert Hyman to the United States Congress
, in support of amateur radio operators, turned the tide and helped defeat a bill that would have ended amateur radio activity entirely, by assigning the entire radio spectrum over to the military. An amateur station that Hyman supposedly shared with Bob Almy and Peggie Murray, which was said to be using the self-assigned call sign
HAM (short for Hyman-Almy-Murray), thus came to represent all of amateur radio. However, this story seems to have first surfaced in 1948, and practically none of the facts in the account check out, including the existence of "a little station called HAM" in the first place.
, Edwin Armstrong
, and Guglielmo Marconi
. However, this cannot be the source of the term as Armstrong was an unknown college student when the term first appeared.
products were supposedly so preeminent in the pioneering era of radio that they became a part of the language of radio. As the story goes, early radio enthusiasts affectionately referred to Hammarlund products as "Ham" products, and called themselves "Ham" operators. In truth, Hammarlund was a minor and barely known company at the time "ham" started to be used.
Amateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...
, and, by extension, "ham radio" refers to amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
in general. This use of the word first appeared in the United States during the opening decade of the 20th century—for example, in 1909 Robert A. Morton reported overhearing an amateur radio transmission which included the comment: "Say, do you know the fellow who is putting up a new station out your way? I think he is a ham." However, the term did not gain widespread usage in the United States until around 1920, after which it slowly spread to other English-speaking countries.
Etymology
One reason for the slow adoption was related to the word's origin, as one of many insults employed by landline telegraph operators at the time in referring to a poor operator or "lid". ("Ham" was also already in more general use as a slangSlang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
word meaning "incompetent", most commonly in the phrase "ham actor".)
Early radio (initially known as wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
) included many former wire telegraph operators, and within the new service "ham" was employed as a pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
term by professional radiotelegraph operators to suggest that amateur enthusiasts were unskilled. In "Floods and Wireless" by Hanby Carver, from the August, 1915 Technical World Magazine, the author noted "Then someone thought of the 'hams'. This is the name that the commercial wireless service has given to amateur operators..."
Even among amateur radio operators, the term was used pejoratively at first by serious experimenters. For example, in December 1916 QST
QST
QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League . It is a membership journal that is included in membership with the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of QST in the United States is higher than all amateur radio-related publications in the...
magazine, an amateur operator working on long distance message passing describes one way to avoid interference was to send messages "...on Thursday nights, when the children and spark coil 'hams' are tucked up in bed" (a spark coil was an unsophisticated radio transmitter, made from an automobile ignition coil, that produced noisy interference).
But only a few months later, in an indication of the changing use of the term among amateurs, a QST
QST
QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League . It is a membership journal that is included in membership with the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of QST in the United States is higher than all amateur radio-related publications in the...
writer uses it in a clearly complimentary manner, saying that a particular 16 year old amateur operator "...is the equal of a ham gaining five years of experience by hard luck."
Use of "ham" as a slur by professionals continued, however. A letter from a Western Union Telegraph Company employee, printed in the December, 1919 edition QST
QST
QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League . It is a membership journal that is included in membership with the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of QST in the United States is higher than all amateur radio-related publications in the...
, showed familiarity with the word's negative connotations, expressing concern that "Many unknowing land wire telegraphers, hearing the word 'amateur' applied to men connected with wireless, regard him as a 'ham' or 'lid'".
But many other amateurs increasingly adopted the word "ham" to describe their hobby and themselves during this period, embracing the word that was originally an insult, similar to the way Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
evolved, as seen, for example, in Thomas F. Hunter's exuberant "I am the wandering Ham" from the January, 1920 issue of QST
QST
QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League . It is a membership journal that is included in membership with the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of QST in the United States is higher than all amateur radio-related publications in the...
.
False etymologies
In spite of—or perhaps because of—its relatively straightforward origin, many interesting and colorful folk etymologies about the supposed origin of "ham" have been developed over the years. Below are some of the competing later explanations that are often charming, but also false.Ham-fisted
One alternate explanation is that "ham" is a shortened version of "ham-fisted", meaning clumsy. This is a reasonable conjecture, given that all early amateur radio stations used hand-operated telegraph keys to transmit Morse codeMorse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
, and sending style is referred to as an operator's "fist", so someone who sends badly could be called ham-fisted. But the earliest references to "ham" use only the single word, and there is no evidence that it evolved as a truncation of a longer phrase.
"A little station called HAM"
This widely circulated but fanciful tale claims that, around 1911, an impassioned speech made by Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
student Albert Hyman to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, in support of amateur radio operators, turned the tide and helped defeat a bill that would have ended amateur radio activity entirely, by assigning the entire radio spectrum over to the military. An amateur station that Hyman supposedly shared with Bob Almy and Peggie Murray, which was said to be using the self-assigned call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
HAM (short for Hyman-Almy-Murray), thus came to represent all of amateur radio. However, this story seems to have first surfaced in 1948, and practically none of the facts in the account check out, including the existence of "a little station called HAM" in the first place.
Home Amateur Mechanic magazine
In this version, supposedly HAM was an acronym derived from the initials of a "very popular" magazine which covered radio extensively. But there is no evidence that there ever was a magazine by this name.Hertz-Armstrong-Marconi
It is sometimes claimed that HAM came from the first letter from the last names of three radio pioneers: Heinrich Rudolf HertzHeinrich Rudolf Hertz
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was a German physicist who clarified and expanded the electromagnetic theory of light that had been put forth by Maxwell...
, Edwin Armstrong
Edwin Armstrong
Edwin Howard Armstrong was an American electrical engineer and inventor. Armstrong was the inventor of modern frequency modulation radio....
, and Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
. However, this cannot be the source of the term as Armstrong was an unknown college student when the term first appeared.
Hammarlund legend
Likely an example of corporate wishful thinking, HammarlundHammarlund
The Hammarlund Manufacturing Company, founded by Oscar Hammarlund in New York City, New York, USA in 1910, initially designed and produced short wave radio equipment.-History:...
products were supposedly so preeminent in the pioneering era of radio that they became a part of the language of radio. As the story goes, early radio enthusiasts affectionately referred to Hammarlund products as "Ham" products, and called themselves "Ham" operators. In truth, Hammarlund was a minor and barely known company at the time "ham" started to be used.