fleam

English

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -iːm

Etymology 1

From Middle English fleme, fleom, from Old French flieme, flemie (“open vein”), probably via a Germanic source (compare Old Saxon flēma, Old High German fliotuma, fliodema, Old English flȳtme, flītme (“fleam, lancet”)), borrowed from Vulgar Latin fletoma, *fletomus, from Late Latin flebotomus, phlebotomus, from Ancient Greek φλεβοτόμον (phlebotómon). Compare Modern French flamme, Dutch vlijm, German Fliete, Danish flitte (“fleam”).

Alternative forms

Noun

fleam (plural fleams)

  1. A sharp instrument used to open a vein, to lance gums, or the like.
Hypernyms
Derived terms
  • fleam saw
  • fleam tooth
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English fleem, flem (“the rushing of water; current”), probably from Old English flēam (“fleeing; flight; rush”), from Proto-Germanic *flaumaz (“stream; current; flood”), from Proto-Indo-European *plew- (“to fly; flow; run”). Cognate with dialectal Norwegian flaum (“flood”).

Alternative forms

  • fleem

Noun

fleam (plural fleams)

  1. (Britain, dialectal, Northern England) The watercourse or runoff from a mill; millstream
  2. (Britain, dialectal, Northern England) A large trench or gully cut into a meadow in order to drain it

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

fleam

  1. first-person singular present active subjunctive of fleō
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