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i⋅tem

  [n., v. ahy-tuhm; adv. ahy-tem]
Use item in a Sentence
–noun
1. a separate article or particular: 50 items on the list.
2. a separate piece of information or news, as a short piece in a newspaper or broadcast.
3. Slang. something suitable for a news paragraph or as a topic of gossip, esp. something that is sensational or scandalous: The bandleader and the new female singer are an item.
4. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter I.
5. an admonition or warning.
6. Older Use. an intimation or hint.
–adverb
7. also; likewise (used esp. to introduce each article or statement in a list or series).
–verb (used with object) Archaic.
8. to set down or enter as an item, or by or in items.
9. to make a note of.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME: likewise (adv.), the same (n.) < L: likewise

Synonyms:
1. thing; heading, entry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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i·tem   (ī'təm)   
n.  
  1. A single article or unit in a collection, enumeration, or series.
  2. A clause of a document, such as a bill or charter.
  3. An entry in an account.
    1. A bit of information; a detail.
    2. A short piece in a newspaper or magazine.
  5. A romantically involved couple: "[They] soon began seeing each other . . . and were an item for a year and a half." (Peter J. Boyer).
adv.  Also; likewise. Used to introduce each article in an enumeration or list.
tr.v.   i·temed, i·tem·ing, i·tems Archaic
To compute.

[From Middle English, also, moreover, from Latin; see i- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote an individual, often specialized element of a whole: a shopping list with many items; discussed the details of their trip; furnished the particulars of the accident.

Word History: The word item seems to us to be very much a noun, whether it refers to an article in a collection or a bit of information. But it began its life in English (first recorded before 1398) as an adverb meaning "moreover, also, in addition." Item was typically used in front of each object listed in an inventory, as we might put also. This use in English simply reflects a meaning of the word in Latin. However, it is easy to see how item could be taken to stand for the thing that it preceded, and so we get, for example, the sense "an article included in an enumeration." The first such usages are found in the 16th century, while the sense "a bit of information" is not found until the 19th century.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Item

I"tem\, adv. [L. See Iterate.] Also; as an additional article.

Item

I"tem\, n. [From Item, adv.]

1. An article; a separate particular in an account; as, the items in a bill.

2. A hint; an innuendo. [Obs.]

A secret item was given to some of the bishops . . . to absent themselves. --Fuller.

3. A short article in a newspaper; a paragraph; as, an item concerning the weather.

Item

I"tem\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Itemed; p. pr. & vb. n. Iteming.] To make a note or memorandum of.

I have itemed it in my memory. --Addison.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : item
Spanish: artículo,
German: der Punkt,
Japanese: 項目
More Translations »

item 
1398, from L. item (adv.) "likewise, just so," used to introduce a new fact or statement, probably from ita "thus," id "it" + adv. ending -tem (cf. idem "the same"). Thus "a statement or maxim" (of the kind formerly introduced by the word item), first recorded 1561. Meaning "detail of information" (especially in a newspaper) is from 1819; item "sexually linked unmarried couple" is 1970, probably from notion of being an item in the gossip columns. Noun sense of "an article of any kind" (1578) developed from earlier adv. sense of "moreover, in addition," which was used before every article in a list (such as an inventory or bill). Itemize coined 1864.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: item
Pronunciation: 'I-t&m
Function: noun
1 : a distinct part in an enumeration, account, or series
2 : a financial instrument (as a check or draft)
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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