bream1
[brim, breem]
- any of various freshwater fishes of the genus Abramis, as A. brama, of Europe, with a compressed, deep body and silvery scales.
- any of various related and similar fishes.
- any of several porgies, as the sea bream, Archosargus rhomboidalis.
- any of several freshwater sunfishes of the genus Lepomis.
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Origin of bream1
1350–1400; Middle English breme < Anglo-French; Old French bresme, braisme < Old Low Franconian *brahsima; compare Old High German brahsema, Dutch brasem
bream2
[breem]
- to clean (a ship's bottom) by applying burning furze, reeds, etc., to soften the pitch and loosen adherent matter.
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Origin of bream2
1620–30; < Middle Dutch brem(e) furze
Bream
[breem]
- Julian (Alexander),born 1933, English guitarist and lutenist.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bream
Contemporary Examples
We have in multiple requests,” Bream answered meekly, “and when it comes in, we'll let you know.
Historical Examples
He clung to a hope that Bream Mortimer at least would receive him fittingly.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
Coming suddenly out of the night it affected Bream painfully.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
Bream's bedroom, he knew, was the one just off the next landing.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
I am engaged to Bream Mortimer, and I love him and nobody else in the world!
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
"He won't have forgotten you," said Bream Mortimer, confidently.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
bream1
Australian brim (brɪm)
- any of several Eurasian freshwater cyprinid fishes of the genus Abramis, esp A. brama, having a deep compressed body covered with silvery scales
- white bream or silver bream a similar cyprinid, Blicca bjoerkna
- short for sea bream
- Australian any of various marine fishes
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French bresme, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German brahsema; perhaps related to brehan to glitter
bream2
- nautical (formerly) to clean debris from (the bottom of a vessel) by heating to soften the pitch
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Word Origin
C15: probably from Middle Dutch bremme broom; from using burning broom as a source of heat
Bream
- Julian (Alexander). born 1933, English guitarist and lutenist
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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
Word Origin and History for bream
n.
freshwater fish, late 14c., from Old French braisme "bream," from Frankish *brahsima, from West Germanic *brahsm- (cf. Old High German brahsima), perhaps from Proto-Germanic base *brehwan "to shine, glitter, sparkle," from PIE *bherek- (see braid (v.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper