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teeming

 - 7 dictionary results

teem⋅ing

1  [tee-ming]
Use teeming in a Sentence
–adjective
1. abounding or swarming with something, as with people: We elbowed our way through the teeming station.
2. prolific or fertile.
Origin:
1525–35; teem 1 + -ing 2

Related forms:
teem⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
teem⋅ing⋅ness, noun

teem⋅ing

2  [tee-ming]
–adjective
falling in torrents: a teeming rain.
Origin:
1685–95; teem 2 + -ing 2

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).
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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To teeming
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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