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ream¹

(rēm)

1. A quantity of paper, formerly 480 sheets, now 500 sheets or, in a printer's ream, 516 sheets.

2. often reams A very large amount: reams of work to do.

[Middle English rem, from Old French rayme, reme, ultimately (perhaps via Old Catalan raima, from Andalusian colloquial Arabic *razma) from Arabic rizma, bundle, from razama, to bundle; see rzm in Semitic roots.]

ream²

(rēm)

tr.v. reamed, ream·ing, reams

1. To form, shape, taper, or enlarge (a hole or bore, for example) with a reamer or similar implement.

2. To remove (material) by this process.

3. To squeeze the juice out of (fruit) with a reamer.

4. Vulgar Slang To penetrate sexually.

Phrasal Verb:

ream out

To criticize or reprimand severely: reamed me out for being late.

[Possibly from Middle English remen, to make room, variant of rimen, from Old English rȳman; see reuə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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