ream

See also: Ream and réam

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹiːm/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Homophone: rheme
• Rhymes: -iːm

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Etymology 1

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 forms

• reem, raim

Noun

ream

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.
   • 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 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-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 forms

• reem, rim, rime

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, by extension from sense of enlarging a hole) To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way.

Synonyms

• (to sexually penetrate): dig out, nail, root, tap; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Translations

to enlarge a hole

• Catalan: barrinar (ca)
• Finnish: avartaa (fi), aarporata
• French: aléser (fr)
• German: reiben (de) (jargon), aufbohren (informal)

• Polish: rozwiercać, poszerzać (pl)
• Russian: развёртывать (ru) n (razvjórtyvatʹ), рассве́рливать (ru) n (rassvérlivatʹ)
• Spanish: escariar (es)
• Swedish: brotscha, upprymma

to shape or form, especially using a reamer

• Finnish: aarporata

to remove material by reaming

• Catalan: barrinar (ca)

• Finnish: aarporata

to remove burrs and debris from a freshly bored hole

• German: entgraten (de)

slang: to yell at or berate

• Finnish: vaahdota (fi), keuhkota (fi)

slang: to sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way

• Finnish: survoa (fi)

Etymology 3

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

Alternative forms

• reme

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.

Synonyms

• (abstract large amount): bunch, load, pile; see also Thesaurus:lot

Coordinate terms

• (quantity of paper): bale, bundle, quire

Translations

bundle of paper

• Catalan: raima (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 令 (zh) (lǐng)

• Czech: rys (cs) m
• Dutch: riem (nl) m
• Finnish: riisi (fi)
• French: rame (fr) f, rame de papier (fr) f, ramette (fr) f
• Galician: resma (gl) f
• German: Ries (de) n

• Hungarian: rizsma
• Irish: réam m
• Italian: risma (it)
• Polish: ryza (pl) f
• Portuguese: resma (pt) f
• Spanish: resma (es) f
• Swedish: ris (sv) n
• Tagalog: resma
• Welsh: rîm f

abstract large amount

• Finnish: kasa (fi), läjä (fi), tukku (fi)
• German: Menge (de) f

• Irish: uafás m
• Welsh: llond gwlad m, pentwr (cy) m

See also

• Units of paper quantity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Amer., Arem, Erma, Maré, amer., mare, mear, rame, ramé

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Friulian

Etymology

Probably from Latin regimen, regimine. Compare French royaume (Old French reaume, reiame), Occitan reialme, Romansh reginam.

Noun

ream

1. kingdom

Related terms

• re
• regn
• reâl

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Latin

Noun

ream f

1. accusative singular of rea

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Middle English

Noun

ream

1. Alternative form of rem

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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

• IPA^(key): /ræ͜ɑːm/

Noun

rēam m

1. cream

Descendants

• English: ream

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Scots

Etymology

Late Middle English, from Old English ream (“cream”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rim/

Noun

ream (uncountable)

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