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.
Taking a fleam from her pocket, she lanced the lump and let it bleed freely.
From The Narrative of Gordon Sellar Who Emigrated to Canada in 1825 by Sellar, Gordon
The blade was positioned at right angles to the spring and case, thus adopting the basic shape of the fleam.
From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Appel, Toby
These are enlarged versions of the fleam employed in human bloodletting.
From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Appel, Toby
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 Appel, Toby
All that a doctor could do, I take it, would be to open a vein, and that I could do along with the best of them, if I had but my fleam here.”
From A Dark Night's Work by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn
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.
