rummage
[ ruhm-ij ]
/ ˈrʌm ɪdʒ /
verb (used with object), rum·maged, rum·mag·ing.
to search thoroughly or actively through (a place, receptacle, etc.), especially by moving around, turning over, or looking through contents.
to find, bring, or fetch by searching (often followed by out or up).
verb (used without object), rum·maged, rum·mag·ing.
to search actively, as in a place or receptacle or within oneself: She rummaged in her mind for the forgotten name.
noun
miscellaneous articles; odds and ends.
a rummaging search.
Nearby words
ruminantly, ruminate, rumination, ruminative, ruml, rummage, rummage out, rummage sale, rummer, rummy, rumor
Origin of rummage
1520–30; aphetic alteration of Middle French arrumage, equivalent to arrum(er) to stow goods in the hold of a ship (< ?) + -age -age
Related formsrum·mag·er, nounun·rum·maged, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for rummage
British Dictionary definitions for rummage
rummage
/ (ˈrʌmɪdʒ) /
verb
(when intr , often foll by through) to search (through) while looking for something, often causing disorder or confusion
noun
an act of rummaging
a jumble of articles
obsolete confusion or bustle
Derived Formsrummager, noun
Word Origin for rummage
C14 (in the sense: to pack a cargo): from Old French arrumage, from arrumer to stow in a ship's hold, probably of Germanic origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for rummage
rummage
1540s, "arrange (cargo) in a ship," from rummage (n.), 1520s, "act of arranging cargo in a ship," a shortening of Middle French arrumage "arrangement of cargo," from arrumer "to stow goods in the hold of a ship," from a- "to" + rumer, probably from Germanic (cf. Old Norse rum "compartment in a ship," Old High German rum "space," Old English rum; see room (n.)). Or else from English room (n.) + -age.
Meaning "to search closely (the hold of a ship), especially by moving things about" first recorded 1610s. Related: Rummaged; rummaging. Rummage sale (1803) originally was a sale at docks of unclaimed goods.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper