ream
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English reme, rem, from Old English rēam (“cream”), from Proto-Germanic *raumaz (“cream”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewgʰmn̥- (“to sour [milk]”).
Cognate with Dutch room (“cream”), German Rahm (“cream”), Norwegian rømme (“sour cream”), Icelandic rjómi (“cream”). See also ramekin.
Alternative formsEdit
NounEdit
ream
- (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.
VerbEdit
ream (third-person singular simple present reams, present participle reaming, simple past and past participle reamed)
- (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cream; mantle; foam; froth.
- 1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, OCLC 270129598:
- a huge pewter measuring pot […] which, in the language of the hostess, reamed with excellent claret
Etymology 2Edit
From Middle English remen, rimen, rümen (“to open up”), from Old English rȳman (“to make roomy, extend, widen, spread, enlarge, amplify, prolong, clear, open up, make clear by removing obstructions, to clear a way”), from Proto-West Germanic *rūmijan, from Proto-Germanic *rūmijaną (“to make roomy, give room, remove”), from Proto-Indo-European *row- (“free space”). Cognate with Dutch ruimen (“to empty, evacuate”), German räumen (“to make room”), Icelandic rýma (“to make room, clear”). More at room.
Alternative formsEdit
VerbEdit
ream (third-person singular simple present reams, present participle reaming, simple past and past participle reamed)
- To enlarge a hole, especially using a reamer; to bore a hole wider.
- To shape or form, especially using a reamer.
- To remove (material) by reaming.
- To remove burrs and debris from a freshly bored hole.
- (slang) To yell at or berate.
- (slang, vulgar, by extension from sense of enlarging a hole) To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way.
SynonymsEdit
- (to sexually penetrate): dig out, nail, root, tap; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
TranslationsEdit
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Etymology 3Edit
From Middle English reme, from Old French raime, rayme (“ream”) (French rame), from Arabic رِزْمَة (rizma, “bundle”).
Alternative formsEdit
NounEdit
ream (plural reams)
- A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, nowadays usually containing 500 sheets.
- (chiefly in the plural) An abstract large amount of something.
- I can't go – I still have reams of work left.
SynonymsEdit
- (abstract large amount): bunch, load, pile; see also Thesaurus:lot
Coordinate termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
See alsoEdit
Units of paper quantity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
AnagramsEdit
FriulianEdit
EtymologyEdit
Probably from Latin regimen, regimine. Compare French royaume (Old French reaume, reiame), Occitan reialme, Romansh reginam.
NounEdit
ream
Related termsEdit
LatinEdit
NounEdit
ream f
Middle EnglishEdit
NounEdit
ream
- Alternative form of rem
Old EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Germanic *raumaz. Cognate with Middle Low German rōm, Middle Dutch room, Old High German roum (German Rahm), Old Norse rjúmi (Icelandic rjómi, Norwegian rømme).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
rēam m
DescendantsEdit
- English: ream
ScotsEdit
EtymologyEdit
Late Middle English, from Old English ream (“cream”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
ream (uncountable)