Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Ream

Ream

(rēm)
,
Noun.
[AS.
reám
, akin to G.
rahm
.]
Cream; also, the cream or froth on ale.
[Scot.]

Ream

,
Verb.
I.
To cream; to mantle.
[Scot.]
A huge pewter measuring pot which, in the language of the hostess,
reamed
with excellent claret.
Sir W. Scott.

Ream

,
Verb.
T.
[Cf.
Reim
.]
To stretch out; to draw out into thongs, threads, or filaments.

Ream

,
Noun.
[OE.
reme
, OF.
rayme
, F.
rame
(cf. Sp.
resma
), fr. Ar.
rizma
a bundle, especially of paper.]
A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, usually consisting of twenty quires or 480 sheets.
Printer’s ream
,
twenty-one and a half quires.
[Eng.]
A common practice is now to count five hundred sheets to the ream.
Knight.

Ream

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Reamed
(rēmd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Reaming
.]
[Cf. G.
räumen
to remove, to clear away, fr.
raum
room. See
Room
.]
To bevel out, as the mouth of a hole in wood or metal; in modern usage, to enlarge or dress out, as a hole, with a reamer.

Webster 1828 Edition


Ream

REAM

,
Noun.
[L. remus., ramus, a branch, for the shoots of trees or shrubs were the first bands used by men. See Gird and Withe.]
A bundle or package of paper, consisting of twenty quires.

Definition 2024


Ream

Ream

See also: ream and réam

English

Proper noun

Ream

  1. A surname.

ream

ream

See also: Ream and réam

English

Alternative forms

Noun

ream (plural reams)

  1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.

Verb

ream (third-person singular simple present reams, present participle reaming, simple past and past participle reamed)

  1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cream; mantle; foam; froth.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      a huge pewter measuring pot which, in the language of the hostess, reamed with excellent claret

Etymology 2

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-Germanic *rūmijaną (to make roomy, give room, remove), from Proto-Indo-European *rowǝ- (free space). Cognate with Dutch ruimen (to empty, evacuate), German räumen (to make room), Icelandic rýma (to make room, clear). More at room.

Alternative forms

Verb

ream (third-person singular simple present reams, present participle reaming, simple past and past participle reamed)

  1. To enlarge a hole, especially using a reamer; to bore a hole wider.
  2. To shape or form, especially using a reamer.
  3. To remove (material) by reaming.
  4. To remove burrs and debris from a freshly bored hole.
  5. (slang) To yell at or berate.
  6. (slang, vulgar) To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way, by analogy with definition 1.
Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English reeme, from Old French raime, rayme (ream) (French rame), from Arabic رِزْمَة (rizma, bundle).

Alternative forms

Noun

ream (plural reams)

  1. A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, nowadays usually containing 500 sheets.
  2. (chiefly in the plural) An abstract large amount of something.
    I can't go – I still have reams of work left.
Translations
Coordinate terms

See also

Anagrams


Latin

Noun

ream f

  1. accusative singular of rea

Old English

Etymology

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).

Pronunciation

Noun

rēam m

  1. cream

Descendants


Scots

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /rim/

Noun

ream (uncountable)

  1. (food): cream
  2. (ointment): cream