ream

See also: Ream and réam

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹiːm/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Homophone: rheme
• Rhymes: -iːm

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English reme, rem, from Old English rēam (“cream”), from Proto-West Germanic *raum, from Proto-Germanic *raumaz (“cream”), from Proto-Indo-European *réwgʰmn̥ (“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. (UK 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. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cream; mantle; foam; froth.
   • 1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh:  […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:

     a huge pewter measuring pot […] which, in the language of the hostess, reamed with excellent claret

Etymology 2

Etymology uncertain, possibly a variant of rime (etymology 4). Doublet of room.

cognates

• Dutch ruimen (“to empty, evacuate”)
• German räumen (“to make room”)
• Icelandic rýma (“to make room, clear”).

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To enlarge (a hole), especially using a reamer; to bore (a hole) wider.

   Synonym: rime

2. (transitive) To remove (material) by reaming.
3. (transitive) To remove burrs and debris from inside (something, such as a freshly bored hole) using a tool.

   Synonym: rime

4. To shape or form, especially using a reamer.
5. (slang, vulgar, by extension from sense of enlarging a hole) To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way.
6. (slang) To yell at or berate.

   Synonym: ream out

Alternative forms

• reem, rim

Synonyms

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

Derived terms

• ream job

Translations

to enlarge a hole

• Bulgarian: райберовам (rajberovam)
• Catalan: barrinar (ca)
• Finnish: avartaa (fi), aarporata
• French: aléser (fr)
• German: reiben (de) (jargon), aufbohren (de) (informal)
• Polish: rozwiercać, poszerzać (pl)
• Russian: развёртывать (ru) n (razvjórtyvatʹ), рассве́рливать (ru) n (rassvérlivatʹ)
• Spanish: escariar (es)
• Swedish: brotscha, upprymma (sv)

to shape or form, especially using a reamer

• Finnish: aarporata

to remove material by reaming

• Bulgarian: райберовам (rajberovam)
• 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 (obsolete)

Noun

ream (plural reams)

1. A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, nowadays usually containing 500 sheets.

   Coordinate terms: bale, bundle, quire

2. (chiefly in the plural) An abstract large amount of something.

   Synonyms: bunch, load, pile; see also Thesaurus:lot

   I can't go – I still have reams of work left.

Derived terms

• printer's ream

Translations

bundle of paper

• Bulgarian: топ листа m (top lista)
• 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 (hu)
• Irish: réam m
• Italian: risma (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ris (no) n

• Polish: ryza (pl) f
• Portuguese: resma (pt) f
• Spanish: resma (es) f
• Swedish: ris (sv) n
• Tagalog: resma
• Thai: รีม (th) (riim)
• Welsh: rîm f

abstract large amount

• Bulgarian: голямо количество n (goljamo količestvo)
• 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

• mera, Amer., rame, mear, Erma, Maré, Maer, Mera, amer., Arem, arme, ramé, mare

Friulian

Etymology

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

Noun

ream m (plural reams)

1. kingdom

Related terms

• re
• regn
• reâl

Latin

Noun

ream f

1. accusative singular of rea

Middle English

Noun

ream

1. Alternative form of rem

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *raum, 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

Scots

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rim/

Noun

ream (uncountable)

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