HM

See also: hm, .hm, h'm, H.M., ḥm, and ḫm

Translingual

HM

HM (plural HMs)

Initialism of His Majesty (the title of a king).
Initialism of Her Majesty (the title of a queen).
(India, government) Initialism of Home Minister.
(military, US) Abbreviation of hospital corpsman.
(music) Abbreviation of heavy metal.
- 1982 April 24, “Women of Iron”, in Gay Community News, page 10:
  When girls appropriate a male-dominated form like HM, can they discard its sexist content without replacing it with something else?

When HM is used in the possessive (His Majesty's or Her Majesty's) to refer to parts of His/Her Majesty's Government (HMG) in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth realms, it remains spelt HM, not HM's. For example, HM Government (not HM's Government) is frequently used instead of HMG, particularly on signage and in logos.^[1]

Similarly, when HMG is used in the possessive (to mean "His/Her Majesty's Government's"), it is written HMG, not HMG's.

2018 June 11, HM Government, “HMG personnel security controls”, in www.gov.uk‎^[2], London, archived from the original on 2021-10-26:
HMG personnel security controls... This booklet describes the government's personnel security...

HM is used both to save space and—especially in uses difficult to change, like signage—to avoid having to change it in the event of the death of a monarch changing His Majesty's to Her Majesty's or vice versa.

2021 October 30 (last accessed), HM Passport Office, “HM Passport Office”, in www.gov.uk‎^[3], London, archived from the original on 2021-10-27:
HM Passport Office is the sole issuer of UK passports and responsible for civil registration services through the General Register Office.

HM

(computing theory) Initialism of Hindley-Milner.
Initialism of Hannah Montana: an American teen sitcom that aired from 2006 to 2011.
- 2022 May 15, Kayleigh Roberts, “Millie Bobby Brown Does a Spot-On Anna Delvey Impression That You *Must* Hear”, in Cosmopolitan‎^[4]:
  She [Millie Bobby Brown] then demonstrated how she eventually started slipping in and out of an American accent as a by-product of her HM marathons (and fair warning, it’s so seamless that it’s a little jarring).

^ HM Passport Office (2021 October 30 (last accessed)) “HM Passport Office”, in www.gov.uk‎^[1], London, archived from the original on 2021-10-27, top-of-page banner logotype: “HM Passport Office”

HM