fleam
Americannoun
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Surgery. a kind of lancet, as for opening veins.
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the beveled leading edge of a sawtooth.
noun
Etymology
Origin of fleam
1375–1425; late Middle English fleme, fleom < Middle French flieme ≪ Late Latin phlebotomus, < Greek phlebotómon; see phlebo-, tome
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The hardness of the fleam metal indicated that it was carburized sufficiently to be made of steel.
From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Toby Appel
Frequently a veterinary spring lancet or fleam is mistaken for a human lancet, or a scarificator for an instrument of venesection.
From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Toby Appel
The fleam should be banished from among the instruments of the veterinary surgeon.
From The Dog by William Youatt
Undo his neckcloth, somebody—he may be dead; and get a fleam, Gumbo, and bleed him.
From The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray
Also pictured are a fleam for making scarifications, the pattern of scarifications, a metal cup, and a leech.
From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Toby Appel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
