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dram

 - 11 dictionary results

dram

[dram] noun, verb, drammed, dram⋅ming.
–noun
1. Measurements.
a. a unit of apothecaries' weight, equal to 60 grains, or 1/8 ounce (3.89 grams).
b. 1/16 ounce, avoirdupois weight (27.34 grains; 1.77 grams). Abbreviation: dr., dr
2. fluid dram.
3. a small drink of liquor.
4. a small quantity of anything.
–verb (used without object)
5. Archaic. to drink drams; tipple.
–verb (used with object)
6. Archaic. to ply with drink.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME dramme, assimilated var. of dragme < OF < LL dragma, L drachma drachma
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dram 1   (drām)   
n.  
  1. Abbr. dr.

    1. A unit of weight in the U.S. Customary System equal to 1/16 of an ounce or 27.34 grains (1.77 grams).

    2. A unit of apothecary weight equal to 1/8 of an ounce or 60 grains (3.89 grams). See Table at measurement.

    3. A small draft: took a dram of brandy.

    4. A small amount; a bit: not a dram of compassion.

    1. A small draft: took a dram of brandy.

    2. A small amount; a bit: not a dram of compassion.


[Middle English dragme, a drachma, a unit of weight, from Old French, from Late Latin dragma, from Latin drachma; see drachma.]
dram 2   (dräm)   
n.   pl. dram
See Table at currency.

[Armenian, ultimately from Greek drakhmē; see drachma.]
DRAM   (dē'rām')   
n.  Dynamic RAM.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dram 
c.1373, from Anglo-L. dragma, from L.L. dragma, from L. drachma "drachma," from Gk. drakhma "measure of weight," also, "silver coin," lit. "handful" (of six obols, the least valuable coins in ancient Greece), akin to drassesthai "to grasp." The fluid dram is one-eighth of a fluid ounce, hence "a small drink of liquor" (1713).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: dram
Variant: also drachm /'dram/
Function: noun
1 : either of two units of weight: a : an avoirdupoisunit equal to 1.772 grams or 27.344 grains b : a unit of apothecaries' weight equal to 3.888 grams or 60 grains
2 : FLUID DRAM
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

dram (drām)
n.
Abbr. dr

  1. A unit of weight in the U.S. Customary System equal to 1/16 of an ounce or 27.34 grains (1.77 grams). Also called drachm.

  2. A unit of apothecary weight equal to 1/8 of an ounce or 60 grains (3.89 grams).

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

DRAM
dynamic random-access memory

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Bible Dictionary

Dram

The Authorized Version understood the word 'adarkonim (1 Chr. 29:7; Ezra 8:27), and the similar word darkomnim (Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:70), as equivalent to the Greek silver coin the drachma. But the Revised Version rightly regards it as the Greek dareikos, a Persian gold coin (the daric) of the value of about 1 pound, 2s., which was first struck by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, and was current in Western Asia long after the fall of the Persian empire. (See DARIC.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
DRAM
dynamic random access memory
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

dram

unit of weight in the apothecaries' and avoirdupois systems. An apothecaries' dram contains 3 scruples (3.888 grams) of 20 grains each and is equal to one-eighth apothecaries' ounce of 480 grains. The avoirdupois dram contains 27.344 grains (1.772 grams) and is equal to one-sixteenth avoirdupois ounce of 437 12 grains. The term also refers to the fluid dram, a measure of capacity equal to one-eighth fluid ounce.

Learn more about dram with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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