Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

tram

Origin

noun

British. a streetcar.

a tramway; tramroad.

Also called tram·car

[tram-kahr] . a truck or car on rails for carrying loads in a mine.

the vehicle or cage of an overhead carrier.

verb (used with object), verb (used without object)

to convey or travel by tram.

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Tram is one of our favorite verbs.

So is absquatulate. Does it mean:

to flee; abscond:

to spend time idly; loaf.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Origin:
1490–1500 for an earlier sense; 1820–30 for def. 2; orig. shafts of a barrow or cart, rails for carts (in mines); perhaps < Middle Dutch trame beam

Related forms

tram·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

trammel (def. 3).

verb (used with object)

Machinery. to adjust (something) correctly.

Origin:
1880–85; short for trammel

noun

silk that has been slightly or loosely twisted, used weftwise in weaving silk fabrics.

Compare organzine.

Origin:
1300–50 for an earlier sense; 1670–80 for current sense; Middle English tram(m)e machination, contrivance < Old French traime weft, cunning contrivance < Latin trāma warp

Link To Tram

Collins

World English Dictionary

tram¹ (træm)

—n
1.	Also called: tramcar, streetcar, US and Canadian names: trolley car an electrically driven public transport vehicle that runs on rails let into the surface of the road, power usually being taken from an overhead wire
2.	a small vehicle on rails for carrying loads in a mine; tub

[C16 (in the sense: shaft of a cart): probably from Low German traam beam; compare Old Norse thrömr, Middle Dutch traem beam, tooth of a rake]

'tramless¹

—*adj*

tram² (træm)

—n
1.	machinery a fine adjustment that ensures correct function or alignment

—vb , trams, tramming, trammed
2.	(tr) to adjust (a mechanism) to a fine degree of accuracy

[C19: short for trammel]

tram³ (træm)

—n
	(in weaving) a weft yarn of two or more twisted strands of silk

[C17: from French trame, from Latin trāma; related to Latin trāns across, trāmes footpath]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

tram

c.1500, "beam or shaft of a barrow or sledge," also "a barrow or truck body" (1516), Scottish, originally in reference to the iron trucks used in coal mines, probably from Middle Flemish tram "beam, handle of a barrow, bar, rung," a North Sea Gmc. word of unknown origin. The sense of "track for a barrow,

EXPAND

tramway" is first recorded 1826; that of "streetcar" is first recorded 1860. Tram-car is attested from 1873.

COLLAPSE

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help