German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Dialectal variant of expected Raum (early modern German, rare), from Middle High German roum, from Old High German roum, from Proto-West Germanic *raum, from Proto-Germanic *raumaz.

The form Rahm ousted the regular form due to homonymy with Raum (room), from Middle High German rūm. Dialects that have developed Middle High German -ou- into -ā- are found in south-eastern and central-western Germany. Cognate with Dutch room and English ream.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ʁaːm/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -aːm

Noun

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Rahm m (strong, genitive Rahmes or Rahms, no plural)

  1. (especially Southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria) cream (milkfat)
    Synonym: Sahne

Usage notes

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  • In German standard German, Rahm is used mainly in compounds (such as Rahmsoße, Sauerrahm etc.); otherwise Sahne is much more common. This is not necessarily true of colloquial varieties nor of standard German in Austria and Switzerland.

Declension

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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See also

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  • Creme (“cream” in the sense of “frosting”)

Further reading

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  • Rahm” in Duden online
  • Rahm” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache