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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

tame

[teym] Pronunciation Key, adjective, tam·er, tam·est, verb, tamed, tam·ing.

–adjective

1.	changed from the wild or savage state; domesticated: a tame bear.

2.	without the savageness or fear of humans normal in wild animals; gentle, fearless, or without shyness, as if domesticated: That lion acts as tame as a house cat.

3.	tractable, docile, or submissive, as a person or the disposition.

4.	lacking in excitement; dull; insipid: a very tame party.

5.	spiritless or pusillanimous.

6.	not to be taken very seriously; without real power or importance; serviceable but harmless: They kept a tame scientist around.

7.	brought into service; rendered useful and manageable; under control, as natural resources or a source of power.

8.	cultivated or improved by cultivation, as a plant or its fruit.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to make tame; domesticate; make tractable.

10.	to deprive of courage, ardor, or zest.

11.	to deprive of interest, excitement, or attractiveness; make dull.

12.	to soften; tone down.

13.	to harness or control; render useful, as a source of power.

14.	to cultivate, as land or plants.

–verb (used without object)

15.	to become tame.

[Origin: bef. 900; (adj.) ME; OE tam; c. D tam, G zahm, ON tamr; (v.) ME tamen, deriv. of the adj.; r. ME temen to tame, OE temian, deriv. of tam; c. ON temja, Goth gatamjan; akin to L domāre to tame

]

—Related forms

tamely, adverb

tameness, noun

tamer, noun

—Synonyms 3. meek, subdued. 4. flat, empty, vapid, boring, tedious, uninteresting. 5. cowardly, dastardly. 9. break, subdue. 12. calm, mollify.

—Antonyms 1. wild.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tame (tām) Pronunciation Key
adj. tam·er, tam·est

Brought from wildness into a domesticated or tractable state.
Naturally unafraid; not timid: "The sea otter is gentle and relatively tame" (Peter Matthiessen).
Submissive; docile; fawning: tame obedience.
Insipid; flat: a tame Christmas party.
Sluggish; languid; inactive: a tame river.

tr.v. tamed, tam·ing, tames

To make tractable; domesticate.
To subdue or curb.
To tone down; soften.

[Middle English, from Old English tam; see demə- in Indo-European roots.]

tam'a·ble, tame'a·ble adj., tame'ly adv., tame'ness n., tam'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tame (adj.)

O.E. tom, tam "domesticated, docile," from P.Gmc. *tamaz (cf. O.N. tamr, O.S., O.Fris., M.L.G., M.Du. tam, O.H.G. zam, Ger. zahm "tame," Goth. tamjan "to tame"), from PIE *deme- "to constrain, to force, to break (horses)" (cf. Skt. damayati "tames;" Pers. dam "a tame animal;" Gk. daman "to tame, subdue," dmetos "tame;" L. domare "to tame, subdue;" O.Ir. damnaim "I tie up, fasten, I tame, subdue"). Possible ulterior connection with PIE *dem- "house, household" (see domestic). Meaning "spiritless, weak, dull" is recorded from 1602. The verb is M.E. teme, from O.E. temian "make tame;" form altered 14c. by infl. of the adj.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

tame
adjective
1.	flat and uninspiring
2.	very restrained or quiet; "a tame Christmas party"; "she was one of the tamest and most abject creatures imaginable with no will or power to act but as directed" [ant: wild]
3.	brought from wildness into a domesticated state; "tame animals"; "fields of tame blueberries" [ant: untamed]
4.	very docile; "tame obedience"; "meek as a mouse"- Langston Hughes [syn: meek]
verb
1.	correct by punishment or discipline
2.	make less strong or intense; soften; "Tone down that aggressive letter"; "The author finally tamed some of his potentially offensive statements" [syn: tone down]
3.	adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment; "domesticate oats"; "tame the soil" [syn: domesticate]
4.	overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable; "He tames lions for the circus"; "reclaim falcons" [syn: domesticate]
5.	make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans; "The horse was domesticated a long time ago"; "The wolf was tamed and evolved into the house dog" [syn: domesticate]

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tame

Tame\, v. t. [Cf. F. entamer to cut into, to broach.] To broach or enter upon; to taste, as a liquor; to divide; to distribute; to deal out. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

In the time of famine he is the Joseph of the country, and keeps the poor from starving. Then he tameth his stacks of corn, which not his covetousness, but providence, hath reserved for time of need. --Fuller.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tame

Tame\, a. [Compar. Tamer; superl. Tamest.] [AS. tam; akin to D. tam, G. zahm, OHG. zam, Dan. & Sw. tam, Icel. tamr, L. domare to tame, Gr. ?, Skr. dam to be tame, to tame, and perhaps to E. beteem. [root]61. Cf. Adamant, Diamond, Dame, Daunt, Indomitable.]

1. Reduced from a state of native wildness and shyness; accustomed to man; domesticated; domestic; as, a tame deer, a tame bird.

2. Crushed; subdued; depressed; spiritless.

Tame slaves of the laborious plow. --Roscommon.

3. Deficient in spirit or animation; spiritless; dull; flat; insipid; as, a tame poem; tame scenery.

Syn: Gentle; mild; meek. See Gentle.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tame

Tame\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tamed; p. pr. & vb. n. Taming.] [AS. tamian, temian, akin to D. tammen, temmen, G. z["a]hmen, OHG. zemmen, Icel. temja, Goth. gatamjan. See Tame, a.]

1. To reduce from a wild to a domestic state; to make gentle and familiar; to reclaim; to domesticate; as, to tame a wild beast.

They had not been tamed into submission, but baited into savegeness and stubbornness. --Macaulay.

2. To subdue; to conquer; to repress; as, to tame the pride or passions of youth.

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