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rime¹

(rīm)

1. A white incrustation of ice formed when supercooled water droplets freeze almost instantly on contact with a solid surface.

2. A coating, as of mud or slime, likened to a frosty film: "A meal couldn't leave us feeling really full unless it laid down a rime of fat globules in our mouths and stomachs" (James Fallows).

tr.v. rimed, rim·ing, rimes

To cover with or as if with frost or ice: "heavy [shoes] rimed with mud and cement ... from the building site" (Seamus Deane).

[Middle English rim, from Old English hrīm.]

rimy adj.

(click for a larger image)

rime1

sign covered in rime atop

Mt. Washington, New Hampshire

rime²

(rīm)

n. & v.

Variant of rhyme.

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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