ream

Meanings

Noun

• Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.
• A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, nowadays usually containing 500 sheets.
• An abstract large amount of something.

Verb

• To cream; mantle; foam; froth.
• To enlarge a hole, especially using a reamer; to bore a hole wider.
• To shape or form, especially using a reamer.
• To remove (material) by reaming.
• To remove burrs and debris from a freshly bored hole.
• To yell at or berate.
• To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way.

Origin

• From Middle English reme, rem, from Old English rēam ("cream"), from Proto-West Germanic *raum, 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.
• From Middle English remen, rimen, rumen, 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.
• From Middle English reme, from Old French raime, rayme (French rame), from Arabic رِزْمَة ("bundle").