▪ I. † ream, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 hréam, 2–3 ream, 3 ræm, rem.
[OE. hréam, of obscure origin; hence reme v.1 The n. is common in OE. and early ME., but is not found after c 1250.]
Clamour, outcry, shouting.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. lv. 427 Ðætte swiðe wære ᵹemaniᵹfalðod Sodomwara hream & Gomorwara. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 336 Ðam halᵹan were wæs ᵹeþuht þæt þæs ᵹefeohtes hream mihte beon ᵹehyred ᵹeond ealle eorðan. c 1205 Lay. 11280 Scottes huuen up muchelne ræm & Octaues folc nam flem. |
b. esp. Noise of wailing or lamentation; hence, great sorrow, distress, or trouble.
| Beowulf (Z.) 1303 Hream wearð in Heorote..Cearu wæs ᵹeniwod. a 900 Cynewulf Christ 594 Swa mid Dryhten dream, swa mid deoflum hream. c 1200 Ormin 8137 Þeȝȝre wop & teȝȝre ræm Comm full wel till hiss ære. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2325 To arisen from ream to aa lestinde lahtre. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1213 Ȝef eni mon schal rem abide, Al ich hit wot ear hit i-tide. |
c. With a and pl. A cry (of grief).
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 164 Swið feole ȝeinde..wið reowfule reames. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1962 He missed Ioseph..wende him slagen, set up an rem. |
▪ II. ream, n.2 Obs. exc. dial.
(riːm)
Forms: 1 réam, 4–5 rem, 5–6 reme, (6 Sc. reyme), 7 reame, 8– ream, (8–9 dial. reeam, reem, raim, etc.).
[OE. réam = MDu. (Du.) room, MLG. rôm(e, MHG. roum (G. rahm, also dial. raum, rohm, etc.):—OTeut. *raumo-z, of obscure origin: ON. rjómi (Norw. dial. rjome, rome, etc.) represents a different ablaut-grade with weak ending (*reumon-).]
1. a. = cream n.2 1. (In ME. occ. milkes reme.)
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 314 Ᵹenim god beren mela and hwit sealt, do on ream oððe gode flete. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 1455 (Kölbing) On is white so milkes rem, Þat oþer is red. 1483 Cath. Angl. 303/1 Reme, quaccum. 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 43 Fresche buttir ande salt buttir, reyme, flot quhaye. 1728 Ramsay Betty & Kate ii, Can dale dainties please Thee mair than moorland ream? 1788 Shirrefs Poems (1790) 141, I laid upon the board Some cruds and ream. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie lxxxviii, A bonny wee china pourie, full o' thick ream. 1869– in northern dial. glossaries (Yks., Lanc.). 1880 E. Cornwall Gloss. s.v., Cold cream is called ‘raw ream’. |
b. Used allusively (see quot. 1721).
| 1721 Kelly Sc. Prov. 136 He streaks Ream in my Teeth... Spoken when we think one only flattering us. 1722 Ramsay Three Bonnets iv. 31 Rosie..Rubs o'er his cheeks and gab wi' ream, Till he believes 't to be a dream. |
† 2. = cream n.1
Perh. a mechanical alteration of crem in the original text.
| 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 624/435 Cristened we weore In Red[de] rem, Whon his bodi bledde on þe Beem. |
3. transf. A scum or froth upon any liquid.
| 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence 2 Ȝe schal se as it were a liquor of oyle ascende vp, fletynge aboue in maner of a skyn or of a reme. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 346 This liquor is called by the physicions chylus, which..resembleth the reme of a ptisame. 1786 Burns Twa Dogs 131 The nappy reeks wi' mantling ream. 1839 Moir Mansie Wauch (ed. 2) xxiv. 306 The porter..was in prime condition with a ream as yellow as a marigold. |
4. (See quots.)
| 1962 Gloss. Terms Glass Industry (B.S.I.) 39 Ream, a non⁓homogeneous layer in flat glass. 1971 Materials & Technol. II. vi. 408 In the drawing of sheet the outer layers of glass may have come from the glass originally on the surface..and may be somewhat deficient in alkali compared with the main glass... This results in a type of inhomogeneity known as ‘ream’, in which the inhomogeneity is in a direction at right angles to the plane of the glass. |
▪ III. ream, n.3
(riːm)
Forms: α. 4 rem, 5–6 reme, (5 reeme, 7 rheme); 5–7 reame, 6 realme, 7–8 rheam, 6– ream. β. 5–6 rym, 6 rim.
[ME. rēm and rīm = Du. riem (16th c.), OF. rayme, raime, reyme, remme (1360–1489 in Godef.; mod.F. rame), and riesme (1492 ibid.), Sp. and Pg. resma, It. (and med.L.) risma, ad. Arab. rizmah bale or bundle (of clothes, paper, etc.).
The precise source of the ME. forms is not clear; the usual reme approximates to those which appear in OF., while the northern rim or rym has more resemblance to Du. riem. It. risma is app. the source of MHG. ris, riz, rist (G. ries, in 16th c. also reisz), whence Da. and Sw. ris.
The occasional 16th-c. spelling realme is due to the existence of ream as a variant of realm.]
a. A quantity of paper, properly 20 quires or 480 sheets, but frequently 500 or more, to allow for waste; of paper for printing, 21½ quires or 516 sheets (a printers' ream).
| α 1392–3 Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 154 Pro j rem papiri, viijs. 1411 Close Roll 12 Hen. IV, [Licence..to export from England to Ireland, one] ‘Reme de papiro’. 1481–90 Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 303, ij. lb. almondes, and half a reme paper. 1497 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 128 A reame of paper roiall, j reame & vij quires of small paper. 1545 Rates of Customs c iij, Paper the bale conteininge x. realme at xvid. the realme. 1549 J. Cheke in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 8, I prai yow bi me a reme of paper at London. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Gt. Eater Kent 9 Offring him, that for a wager he would deuoure 4. reame of his ballads; which in the totall are two thousand. 1689–90 Wood Life 20 Mar. (O.H.S.) III. 328 Bought..a reame of writing paper. 1766 C. Leadbetter Royal Gauger ii. xiv. (ed. 6) 371 Tied up into Reams or Bundles for Sale. Note. That 18 of the good Quires, and 2 of the broken go to each Ream. 1832 Babbage Econ. Manuf. ix. (ed. 3) 65 The hundred reams of paper were printed off. 1879 Print. Trades Jrnl. xxvi. 15 A hundred reams were actually made in Scotland and delivered in London in three days. |
| β 1473–4 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 645 Pro di. rym et iij quaternis papiri empt., ijs. vijd. 1507–8 Ibid. 659 In ij Rymez papiri empt. 1568 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 293 Half a rim of paper..Half a rim of dim paper. |
b. Used to denote a large quantity of paper, without reference to the precise number of sheets.
| 1597 Bp. Hall Sat. ii. ii. 30 When ye have spent A thousand lamps, and thousand reams have rent Of needlesse papers. 1646 J. Hall Poems 1 Paper-tyrants reign, who presse Whole harmlesse reams to death. 1699 Garth Dispens. iv. 46 Hither, rescu'd from the Grocers, come M― Works entire, and endless Rheams of Bloom. 1781 Cowper Progr. Err. 311 Whose corresponding misses fill the ream With sentimental frippery and dream. 1814 Scott Drama (1874) 202 More fire than warms whole reams of modern plays. a 1839 Praed Poems (1865) II. 14 Shield thee with a ream of rhyme. |
c. With pun on ream realm.
| 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet D ij, Let them but chafe my penne, and it shal sweat out a whole realme of paper, or make them odious to the whole Realme. c 1592 Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. iv, Giue Me a Reame of paper, We'll haue a kingdome of gold for't. |
d. transf. in pl. A large quantity.
| 1913 D. H. Lawrence Love Poems & Others 54 Eh, what a shame it seems As some should ha'e hardly a smite o' trouble An' others has reams. 1927 J. S. Huxley Relig. without Revelation iv. 113 This simple personal fact illustrates, better than could whole reams of argument, the extreme complexity of religion. 1976 San Francisco Examiner 30 May (This World Suppl.) 19/1 Spacecraft sent there in recent years have dispelled legends and added reams of sound, ordered data, yet the charisma of Mars remains. |
▪ IV. ream
obs. variant of realm.
▪ V. ream, v.1 Obs. exc. dial.
Forms: 3 ræmien, 4–6 reme, 6– ream, 9 dial. ra(y)me, r(h)eem.
[ME. ræmien, of obscure origin. Cf. ream v.3
As the evidence for the word is chiefly south-western, it is doubtful whether the northern quots. in 1 b belong here.]
1. intr. To stretch oneself after sleep or on rising; † to yawn.
| c 1205 Lay. 25991 Seoððen he gan ræmien and raxlede swiþe. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. viii. 7 He..hus brest knokede Rascled and remed and routte at þe laste. 14.. Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 563/9 Alo, to reme. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Enaspar el cuerpo, to reame, to reach, pandiculare, exporrigere se. 1886 Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk., Ream, to stretch oneself on awaking, or on getting up. |
b. To stretch or reach after.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 72 Holde euerich his owene mester, & nout ne reame oðres. 1691 Ray N.C. Words, Ream, to stretch out the hand to take anything; to reach after. 1781 Hutton Tour to Caves (ed. 2) Gloss., Ream, to reach with stretched out body and arms. |
c. Of bread: (see quot.).
| 1778 Exmoor Scolding Gloss., Bread is said to ream, when..if a Piece of it be broken into two Parts, the one draws out from the other a kind of String..stretching from one Piece to the other. |
2. trans. To draw out, to stretch, distend.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. xlviii. (Bodl. MS.), Wombe ache comeþ..of winde þat strecchiþ and remeþ. 1598 Herrings Tayle D i b, His pearching hornes are ream'd a yard beyond assise. 1880 W. Cornwall Gloss. s.v., Don't ream it out of shape. 1886 Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk. s.v., You can ream that there cloth [etc.]. |
b. To pull apart or to pieces; to tear open.
| 1587 Mirr. Mag., Irenglas xxv, Which seeme..to reme my hart, Before I come to open all my smart. 1746 Exmoor Scolding (E.D.S.) 18 Chell ream my Heart to tha avore Ise let tha lipped. |
▪ VI. ream, v.2 Chiefly Sc.
(riːm)
Also 5 remyn, 6 Sc. rem-.
[f. ream n.2]
1. intr. To froth or foam. Also const. over. (Said of liquor, or the vessel containing it, and hence transf. or fig. in various applications.)
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 429/1 Remyn' as ale or other lycoure, spumat. 1513 [see reaming ppl. a.2]. 1710 Ruddiman Gloss. Douglas' æneis s.v. Remand, We say that ale reams, when it has a white foam above it. 1785 Burns Scotch Drink ii, Or, richly brown, ream owre the brink In glorious faem. 1791 ― Tam o' Shanter 109 The swats sae ream'd in Tammie's noddle. 1814 Scott Wav. xi, A huge pewter measuring-pot..which in the language of the hostess, ‘reamed’..with excellent claret. 1863 T. Taylor Pict. in Words xxiii, Where the white waters chafe and ream. |
b. To become covered with cream.
| a 1774 Fergusson Farmer's Ingle Poems (1845) 36 Wi buttered bannocks now the girdle reeks; I' the far nook the bowie briskly reams. |
2. trans. To take the cream off; to skim. Also intr., to be skimmed.
| 1768 Ross Helenore ii. 71 On skelfs..the cogs were set, Ready to ream, an' for the cheese be het. 1899 J. Colville Scott. Vernacular 15 (E.D.D.) When the milk was drawn in the cog it was..reamed for the churn. |
▪ VII. ream, v.3 techn.
(riːm)
Also reem.
[Of somewhat doubtful origin: perh. a survival in special sense of ME. reme to make room, open up.
The word is current in south-western dial., in which it is app. not regarded as distinct from ream v.1; but the meaning, and the fact that reamer corresponds to a northern rimer, make it probable that the real source is ME. reme, rime:—OE. r{yacu}man. The spelling reem is rare in the senses given here, but is usual in another application of the word, for which see reeming vbl. n.]
I. 1. trans. To enlarge or widen (a hole) with an instrument.
| 1815 [see reaming vbl. n. 1]. 1825 Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng., Ream, to widen; to open. 1881 Metal World No. 1. 3 Bore the tang-hole with a gimlet, and slightly ream the hole with a taper reamer. |
2. a. To enlarge the bore of (a gun) by the use of a special tool. Chiefly with out.
| 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 330/1 The practice of reaming out guns, or boring them out, first took place in the British service in 1830. 1881 Jefferson Davis Rise & Fall Confed. Govt. I. 474 Iron guns which were reamed out to get a good bore. |
b. To clear from lead.
| 1882 [see reaming vbl. n. 1]. 1886 J. M. Caulfeild Seamanship Notes 7 Reaming a shackle is clearing the undercut portion of the lug of a shackle from any..lead which might remain after pin and pellet are knocked out. |
3. With out: To remove (a defect) by reaming; to clear (something obstructed); to excavate. Also (U.S.) without adv.
| 1861 E. P. Halsted Let. in Times 25 Oct., The interior of the gun itself was defective,..and the defect had been reamed out at Woolwich. 1967 ‘T. Wells’ Dead by Light of Moon x. 99 The toilet..flowed over and Mr. Hawthorne had to come up and ream out the pipes. 1978 J. A. Michener Chesapeake 642 At the bottom of the Chesapeake..this primeval riverbed existed, sixty feet deeper than the shallow waters surrounding it, but as clearly defined as when first reamed out by tumbling boulders. 1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) v. 200 The pipe came into even more elaborate play, the amber stem pointing this way and that as Craven knocked, blew into and rapidly reamed this little instrument of pleasure. 1980 Nature 19 June 532/3 As this plinian eruption column formed, it reamed out the volcanic conduit, forming a central crater more than 1·5 km in diameter. |
II. fig.
4. U.S. slang. To cheat, to swindle. Cf. rim v.3 2.
| 1914 ‘High Jinks, Jr.’ Choice Slang 17 Ream one (to), to swindle one. 1938 A. J. Liebling Back where I came From 84 He had invented a new technique for reaming the customers. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §314/8 Cheat; defraud,..ream. 1952 S. Kauffmann Philanderer (1953) xiii. 216 Yeah, I smell the rat. Joe Bass's new relatives. Well, palsy, they're liable to ream you yet. |
5. Usu. with out. To reprimand. U.S. colloq.
| 1950 E. Hemingway Across River xii. 117 You ream out people you respect, to make them do what is fairly impossible, but is ordered. 1972 R. Busby Reasonable Man xvi. 145 Banner's back—reamed you out as well, has he? 1973 J. Ryder Trevayne (1974) xi. 89 I'll get my ass chewed... I'll get reamed anyway for letting you make this tour. 1979 ‘A. Hailey’ Overload iv. xvii. 380 A half-wit in my department has been sitting on the thing all morning. I'll ream her out later. |
Sense 5 in Dict. becomes 5 b. Add: [I.] [2.] c. U.S. To extract juice from (a fruit) with a reamer (*reamer n. 2); to extract (juice) by reaming.
| 1933 Fruit Products Jrnl. July 325/1 Juice was prepared by reaming the cut halves of the fruit on a fast revolving burr. 1979 Sunset Apr. 152/3 With a sharp knife, cut 10 to 12 oranges neatly in half. Ream the juice from each orange half. |
[II.] For ‘fig.’ read: transf. and fig. [5.] a. To commit sodomy with. (Cf. rim v.3 1 b.) U.S. coarse slang.
| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §508/7 Commit sodomy,..ream. 1976 ‘Trevanian’ Main (1977) x. 205, I warn him, but he don't listen. And you..tell me he's got himself reamed. 1979 T. Wolfe Right Stuff (1981) iv. 75 The man reams him so hard the pain brings him to his knees. |
[b.] (Earlier related example.)
| [1946 Jrnl. Amer. Sociol. Mar. 421 The expressions ‘to have one's ass chewed’ or ‘to have one's ass reamed’, referring to reprimands by superiors.] |
▪ VIII. † ream, v.4 Obs.
Also ræm-, rem-.
[Of obscure origin; found only in Layamon, usually along with ræsen rese v.]
intr. To rush, charge.
| c 1205 Lay. 623 Ofte heo ræsden & ræmden togadere. Ibid. 9339 Heo ræsden to Romleoden & heo remden to flonne. c 1275 Ibid. 26813 Bruttus to ȝam reamde, and flowen Rom-leode. |
▪ IX. ream, a. Cant.
Genuine.
| 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 313 Not one ‘swell’ in a score would view it in any other light than a ‘ream’ (genuine) concern. Ibid., Petition with ream monekurs (genuine signatures). |