ع و مʿ-w-m
(ن) عَامَ يَعُوْمُ عَوْمًاʿāma yaʿūmu ʿawman (original form: عَوَمَʿawama): to swim.
عَامʿām pl. أَعْوَامaʿwām: year. A morphological and semantic point: there is a difference between ʿām and سَنَةsanah — scholars say that ʿām is used more for a year of prosperity and ease, and سَنَةsanah for a year of hardship and famine, and the verse of Sūrat Yūsuf ﴿ثُمَّ يَأْتِيْ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ ذٰلِكَ عَامٌ فِيْهِ يُغَاثُ النَّاسُ﴾ (Yūsuf 12:49) is a clear example of this (before it, "سِنِيْنsinīn" was used for the years of famine). Nine times in the Quran.