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ream 1 (rēm)
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n.
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.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
ream 2 (rēm)
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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.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

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.