▪ I. wem, n. Obs. exc. arch.
(wɛm)
Forms: 3– wem (5 Sc. vem), 3–7 wemme, 4 wembe (6 wemb), 4–6 weme, 6 weam(e.
[ME. wem, substituted for OE. wam(m, wom(m (see wam), under the influence of the verb.]
1. Moral defilement; stain (of sin). Chiefly in phr. without(en) wem = immaculate a. 1. Obs. exc. arch.
| (a) a 1225 Ancr. R. 10 Cleane religiun & wiðuten wem is iseon & helpen widewen [etc.]. c 1290 St. Cecilia 10 in S. Eng. Leg. 490 Lat, louerd, myn herte wiþoute wem be. c 1330 Assump. Virg. (B.M. MS.) 647 Marie..Clene maide and clene wyf, Clene widewe with oute wem. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xviii. 14 If thar ware noght lordid of me, than i sall be withouten wem. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 304 Jamus telliþ of two religions; þe first is clene wit-oute wem{ddd}þe secounde is veyn religioun. c 1460 Towneley Myst. x. 37 My son shall in a madyn light..wythouten wem, os son thrugh glas. c 1475 Partenay 466 That god..of the virgyn unfold Was born without wemme in hir attamed. 1538 Bp. Longland Serm. bef. King in Foxe A. & M. (1570) 1253/2 Impollutus. He was vndefyled. He lyued cleane, without spotte or blotte, without wemme or stayne. 1561 J. Daus Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 29 Therefore was the Church of Smyrna right excellent, howbeit not vtterly without any wem. 1858 Morris Def. Guenevere etc. 123 Rapunzel sings..Mary, maid withouten wem, Keep me! |
| (b) 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 3111 Make not thy soule so wykked a wem To do wykkedness for pryde of hem. Ibid. 7446 Þe þredde [sin] ys þe werste wem. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. i. 74, I wot wel, wem ne spot may not abyde there so noble vertue haboundeth. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) i. xxii. (1859) 26 So clene of wem, that no thyng nedeth the To weyle, ne to wepe thy sinnes fore? |
† b. With defining term, as of sin, etc. Obs.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xviii. 14, I sall be withouten wembe [v.r. wem] of dedly gilt. c 1340 ― Prose Tr. 38 For in hir [Mary] was full-hede of all vertus with-owttyne weme of synn. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 136 A mayde..With⁓oute wommanes wem in-to þis worlde brouhte hym. a 1425 Cursor M. 11208 (Trin.) Iesu hir childe bar she þore..Mayden wiþouten wem of flesshe. a 1450 Mirk's Festial 77 Oure Lord Ihesu Crist þat oure lady conceyuet of þe Holy Gost wythout wem of hyr body. c 1450 Cov. Myst. Prol. 5 Mary.. wold not be defylyde With spot nor wem of man. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 8 b, Our lady bare a chylde without any spot or wem of her virginite. |
2. Material blemish, defect, injury, or stain. Obs. exc. dial.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 378 Hwon þe gost iwent ut..wið-ute bruche & wið-ute wem, of his two huses. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1003 Saffer helde þe secounde stale, Þe calsydoyne þenne withouten wemme. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 930 That other bowe was of a plante Withoute wem, I dar warante. 1387 Trevisa Higden I. 185 Vppon þat hulle lettres þat were i-write in poudre were i-founde wiþ oute wem [L. illibatæ] at þe ȝeres ende. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 4228 Alle herre clothus..were..clene w{supt}ouȝt spotte ore wemme. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. ix. 157 Yf hit [water] be cleer apperyng like the skie, Withouten wem or signe of thingis vile. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. 114 A bowe..not marred with knot, gaule, wyndeshake, wem, freate or pynche. 1553 Respublica ii. iii. 565 Naie, Honestie will not see a wemme on your Cote. 1565 Stapleton tr. Bede's Hist. Ch. Eng. 151 All the clothes, that were about hym, semed..without wem or any blemish. 1657 C. Beck Universal Char. M 3 A wemme, v. flaw. 1691 Ray S. & E.-Country Words, Wem, a small fault, hole, decay, or blemish; especially in cloth, Essex. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Wem, a small fretted place in a garment. 1889 N.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., I'd no idee that tree was so full o' wems as I've fun it oot to be. |
† b. Hurt, harm, injury. Obs.—1
| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 76 So grete vengeance he nam of men of holy kirke, Þat not did no wem tille him ne no trespas. |
† c. fig. A break or pause (in time). Obs.
| 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe 43 This scuffling or bopeepe in the darke they had a while without weame or bracke. |
3. Bodily blemish, disfigurement, or defect; also, the mark of a bodily injury, a cicatrix, a scar. Obs. exc. arch.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6897 Ȝif..hire vet in eny wemme be ybroȝt, Holdeþ hom gulti of þe dede. a 1300 Cursor M. 19721 Men lete him dun Vte ouer þe walles o þe tun, Witvten ani wond or weme. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2460 Þat barn þe best adoun sette Wiþoute eny maner wem þe worse it to greue. 1382 Wyclif Exod. xii. 5 It shal ben a lombe with⁓outen wemme [Vulg. absque macula]. 1387 Trevisa Higden IV. 231 He schewed opounliche þe wemmes of the sore woundes [L. vulnerum cicatrices] þat he hadde i-fonge in Egipt. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 247 Macula is a wem in a mannys iȝe. 1448–9 J. Metham Amoryus & Cl. 1866 Hole and sound, with-owte wemme off yowre woundys, Nowe vp⁓ryse. a 1500 Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (? 1510) Z iij, If a man..haue a wemme in a lym Shal a man vpbreyde it hym. 1526 R. Whitford Martiloge 122 b, A martyr slayne by y⊇ swerde, whose holy body..was founde .xl. dayes after his dethe..hole w{supt}out wemme. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 92/1 There appeered in his head the signes and prints of ten wounds or more: all the which were growne into one wem. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 463 This is the Glasse Ladies wher-in I woulde haue you..rubbe out the wrinckles of the minde, and be not curious about the weams in the face. a 1613 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. 196 Although the wound be in some sort healed, yet the wem or scar still remaineth. 1820 Scott Monast. x, ‘It is even so,’ he added,..‘neither wem nor wound—not as much as a rent in his frock!’ |
| fig. 1513 Douglas æneis iv. i. 46, I knaw and felis the wemmys and the way Of the ald fyre and flamb of luffis heit. 1623 Bingham Xenophon, Comp. Rom. Manner of War X 2 b, You spots and wems of noble Mars [tr. Lipsius vos maculae et vibices generosi Martis], which make the warres a refuge and sanctuarie for your villanies. |
4. (By confusion with wen1.) A raised spot; a protuberance.
| 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 36 b, Theophrast sayth that it [the Cedar tree] is of marveylous highe growth,..about the bodie without wem or knot. 1584 D. Fenner Def. Ministers (1587) 123 Wemmes, bunches, and needlesse waightes of fatte. 1610 Donne Pseudo-Martyr iv. §31. 138 The Reformers..thought to..take off euery Mole, and paire away euery Wemme. |
▪ II. wem
var. whem whim n.1
| 1769 Ann. Reg., Nat. Hist. 101/1 Four horses,..at a common wem or engine, are sufficient to keep the mine clear. |
▪ III. † wem, v. Obs.
Forms: 1 wemman, 3 wemmy, 5 wemme; pa. tense 1–2 wemde, 4–5 wemmed; pa. pple. 3 (Orm.) wemmedd, 3 y-, 4 i-, 4–6 wemmed (3 y-wemned); 3 i-, 4 wemmid, 4–5 wemmyd; 3 i-wemmet, 5 Sc. wemmyt; 4 wemed, 6 wembde.
[OE. wemman (and ᵹewemman), f. wamm wam. Cf. awem v. and OHG. bi-, giwemman, Goth. anawammjan to blame.]
1. trans. To disfigure, mutilate (a person, his body); to impair (the mind); to injure (a thing).
| c 900 tr. Baeda's Hist. iv. xxxii. (1890) 382 Wæs in ðæm mynstre sum ᵹeong monn, ðam unwlitiᵹ swyle & atolic his eaᵹan wyrde & wemde. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1426 Ah þæt wes miracle muchel, þæt nowðer nes iwemmet clað þæt ha hefden. c 1275 Lay. 6380 Þat þorh his wraþþe his wit was i-wemmid. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6965 Ledeþ me þanne to mi sone, þat he mowe yse Min fet aboue & ek bineþe, wer hii ywemmed be. a 1300 Cursor M. 22824 If þat ani..Was wemed, or on fote or on hand,..it sal na wem o þam be sene. a 1375 Joseph Arim. 678 Þenne com on fro þe fiht þat foule was wemmed, Was striken of þat on Arm and bar hit in þat oþer. 1387 Trevisa Higden V. 213 He ordeyned þat a man þat were i-wemmed in his body [L. vitiatus corpore] schulde fonge non ordres. |
2. To desecrate or violate; to hurt or harm.
| a 1000 Ags. Ps. (Spelm.) lxxxviii. 31 Ᵹyf rihtwisnys min hi wemmaþ [L. profanaverint]. a 1000 Ags. Laws (Thorpe) II. 142 Ᵹif he oðres ceorles wif wemme [L. maculaverit]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4197, & þe wule he wolde þis tendre þing wemmy foule ynou. c 1375 Cursor M. 19504 (Fairf.) For god him gette, þat knawes al gode, þat he wemmed neuer sacles blode. |
3. To spot or stain with sin or impurity.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 83 Alse þe liuendes godes sune in to þe meidene com & ho of hire meiden-had nawiht ne wemde. c 1200 Ormin 2326 Sannte Marȝe sahh, Þatt ȝho þa shollde wurrþenn Wiþþ childe, swa þatt ȝho þærþurrh Ne shollde nohht ben wemmedd. a 1300 Cursor M. 10021 Hir maiden⁓hed..neuer wemmed was a dele. 1387 Trevisa Higden V. 213 Also he seide þat Adam his synn wemmed [L. laesit] Adam alone. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. vi. 174 If the hous of Laban hadde be wemmed so cursidli as with the synne of ydolatrie. a 1500 Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (? 1510) G iij b, And she after chylde berynge Shalbe wemmyd of nothynge. |
4. To stain; to mark with spots.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xxix. (Tollem. MS.) Whan sche [the moon] passeþ upwarde to þe heyer cerclis, sche is bryȝte and clene; and þan sche semeþ nouȝt wemmid with no splek and suttynge. 1567 Drant Hor. Art Poetrie Ded. *iij, The verie Crownes and Scepters of best Monarks and princes had bene rustie, wembde, and warpde with obliuion. |
Hence † wemmed ppl. a.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxviii. (Margaret) 697 God forbed þat I With wenemyt [read wemmyt] handis sla þe in hy. 1382 Wyclif Deut. xii. 15 Other vnclene it were, that is, wemmed and feble, other cleene, that is, hool and withouten wemme. |
▪ IV. wem
obs. form of wame.