ream

Etymology 1

From Middle English reme, rem, from Old English rēam (“cream”), from Proto-West Germanic *raum, from Proto-Germanic *raumaz (“cream”), from Proto-Indo-European *réwgʰmn̥ (“to sour [milk]”). Cognate with Dutch room (“cream”), German Rahm (“cream”), Norwegian rømme (“sour cream”), Icelandic rjómi (“cream”). See also ramekin.

noun

1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Cream; also, the creamlike froth on ale or other liquor; froth or foam in general.

verb

1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cream; mantle; foam; froth.

Etymology 2

From Middle English remen, rimen, rümen (“to open up”), 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.

verb

1. To enlarge a hole, especially using a reamer; to bore a hole wider.
2. To shape or form, especially using a reamer.
3. To remove (material) by reaming.
4. To remove burrs and debris from a freshly bored hole.
5. (slang, vulgar, by extension from sense of enlarging a hole) To sexually penetrate in a rough and painful way.
6. (slang) To yell at or berate.

Etymology 3

From Middle English reme, from Old French raime, rayme (“ream”) (French rame), from Arabic رِزْمَة (rizma, “bundle”).

noun

1. A bundle, package, or quantity of paper, nowadays usually containing 500 sheets.
2. (chiefly in the plural) An abstract large amount of something.
   I can't go – I still have reams of work left.