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teem

 - 6 dictionary results

teem

1  [teem] ,
–verb (used without object)
1. to abound or swarm; be prolific or fertile (usually fol. by with).
2. Obsolete. to be or become pregnant; bring forth young.
–verb (used with object)
3. Obsolete. to produce (offspring).
Use teem in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 900; ME temen, OE tēman, tīeman to produce (offspring), deriv. of tēam team

Related forms:
teemer, noun

Synonyms:
1. overflow, brim, overrun, bristle.

teem

2  [teem] ,
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
to empty or pour out; discharge.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME temen < ON tæma to empty, deriv. of tōmr empty, c. OE tōm free from
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To teem
teem 1   (tēm)   
v.   teemed, teem·ing, teems

v.   intr.

  1. To be full of things; abound or swarm: A drop of water teems with microorganisms.

  2. Obsolete To be or become pregnant; bear young.

v.   tr. Archaic
To give birth to.

[Middle English temen, to beget, bear, from Old English tīeman, tēman; see deuk- in Indo-European roots.]
teem'er n., teem'ing·ly adv.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to be abundantly filled or richly supplied: The street teemed with pedestrians. The garden abounds with flowers. The sidewalk was crawling with vendors. The house overflowed with guests. The parade route swarmed with spectators.
teem 2   (tēm)   
tr.v.   teemed, teem·ing, teems
To pour out or empty: teemed the molten ore into a huge mold.

[Middle English temen, from Old Norse töma.]
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

teem  (1)
"abound, swarm," O.E. teman (Mercian), tieman (W.Saxon) "give birth to, produce," from P.Gmc. *taumijanan, from PIE *deuk- "to lead" (see duke). Related to team in its now-obsolete O.E. sense of "family, brood of young animals." The meaning "be fertile, abound, swarm" is first recorded 1593; teeming in this sense is from 1715.

teem  (2)
"to flow copiously," c.1300, from O.N. toema "to empty," from tomr "empty," cognate with O.E. tom "empty." The original notion is of "to empty a vessel," thus "to pour out."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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