bireme

[ bahy-reem ]
See synonyms for bireme on Thesaurus.com
nounNautical.
  1. a galley having two banks or tiers of oars.

Origin of bireme

1
1590–1600; <Latin birēmis two-oared, having two banks of oars (bi-bi-1 + rēm(us) oar + -is adj. suffix)

Words Nearby bireme

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bireme in a sentence

  • This is proved by another illustration of a bireme on the same vase, in which the steering oars are clearly seen.

    Ancient and Modern Ships. | George C. V. Holmes
  • This Greek bireme, with its shallow hull and lofty, open superstructure, could hardy have been a seaworthy vessel.

    Ancient and Modern Ships. | George C. V. Holmes
  • The large figures at the stern seem to point to the bireme of Fig. 74 being about to be used for racing purposes.

    Ancient and Modern Ships. | George C. V. Holmes
  • In Appendix, p. 157, will be found an account of an eighth-century Greek bireme, recently discovered.

    Ancient and Modern Ships. | George C. V. Holmes
  • As the bireme struck the high waves King Hiram advanced to the prow.

    A King of Tyre | James M. Ludlow

British Dictionary definitions for bireme

bireme

/ (ˈbaɪriːm) /


noun
  1. an ancient galley having two banks of oars

Origin of bireme

1
C17: from Latin birēmus, from bi- 1 + -rēmus oar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012