rime
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rime¹
- /ɹaɪm/ US, UK
Sounds like rhyme · Rhymes with -aɪm
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Middle English rim, rime, rym, ryme (“hoar frost; rime”), from Old English hrīm (“frost”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrīm (“rime; hoar frost”), from Proto-Germanic *hrīmą (North Germanic), *hrīmaz, *hrīmô (“rime; hoar frost”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to graze, touch; to streak”).
The verb is derived from the noun. (The Old English equivalent, which did not survive into modern English, was behrīman.)
Cognates
* Middle Dutch riim, rijm, rīm (modern Dutch rijm (“hoar frost”))
* Old Danish *rim (only in rimfrost (“rime frost”); modern Danish rim (“hoar frost”))
* Old French rime, rimee (Middle French rime, rimee (“hoar frost”), Anglo-Norman rime, rimee (“hoar frost”))
* Old High German rīm (Middle High German rīm, Bavarian Reim (“dew; fog; light frost”) (dialectal))
* Old Norse hrím (Icelandic hrím, Norwegian rim (“hoar frost”))
* Old Saxon hrīm
* Old Swedish *riim, *rim (only in rimfrost (“rime frost”); modern Swedish rim)
* West Frisian rime, rym
noun rimes
- Archaic in the form rimes: originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces; hoar frost (sense 1). In a Hoar-Froſt, that vvhich vve call a Rime, is a Multitude of Quadrangular Priſmes, exactly figured, but piled vvithout any Order, one over another.
- A film or slimy coating.
- White hair as an indication of old age. Tales that have the rime of age, / And chronicles of Eld.
-
Ice formed by the rapid freezing of cold water droplets of fog on to a cold surface.
Similar: frost, hoar frost
- A coating or sheet of ice so formed.
- A cold fog or mist. When Tommy and Elspeth reached the Den the mist lay so thick that they had to feel their way though it to the Ailie, where they found Gavinia alone and scared. […] "As sure as death," she said, "there was some living thing standing there; I couldna see it for the rime, but I heard it breathing hard.
verb rimes · riming · rimed
- To cover (something) with rime (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1 or etymology 1, noun sense 3.1) or (loosely) hoar frost. ―No more ſhall hoary Boreas, iſſuing forth / VVith Eurus, lead the tempeſts of the North; / Rime the pale Davvn, or veil'd in flaky ſhovvers / Chill the ſvveet boſoms of the ſmiling Hours.
- To cover (something) with a thin coating or film; to coat. Oh, London, London! […] the mornings silvery gray, and the multitudinous monuments rimed by years, thunder of hoofs in ways without end, and the silence of mighty parks—Bud lay awake in the nights to think of them.
- Sometimes followed by up: of a thing: to become covered with rime or (loosely) hoar frost.
rime²
- /ɹaɪm/ US, UK
Sounds like rhyme · Rhymes with -aɪm
Where it comes from
A variant of rhyme (noun and verb), from Middle English rim, rime, ryme (“identical sound in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; measure, meter, rhythm; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”, noun), and Middle English rimen, rymen, rim, rime (“to recite or write verse; to sing songs; to tell a story in verse; to fit into verse; (figurative) to agree, make sense”, verb): see further at rhyme.
noun rimes
- Archaic spelling of rhyme (“word that rhymes with another”). Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1797–1798.
- The second part of a syllable, from the vowel on (as opposed to the onset).
verb rimes · riming · rimed
- Archaic spelling of rhyme Ha, ha, hovv vildely doth this Cynicke rime?
rime³
- /ɹaɪm/ US, UK
Sounds like rhyme · Rhymes with -aɪm
Where it comes from
From Middle English rimen, rime (“to count, enumerate”) [and other forms], from Old English rīman, rȳman (“to count, number, reckon; to calculate, compute, count up; to enumerate, recount; to account, esteem as”) (rare), from Proto-Germanic *rīmijaną, *rīmaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Indo-European *(a)rēy- (“to add; to count; to customize; to order, regulate”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂rey- (“to arrange; to count”), ultimately from *h₂er- (“to fit, put together; to fix; to slot”), and thus a doublet of rhyme.
verb rimes · riming · rimed
-
Followed by up: to count (something); to number, to reckon.
Similar: enumerate
rime⁴
- /ɹaɪm/ US, UK
Sounds like rhyme · Rhymes with -aɪm
Where it comes from
From Middle English rimen, rime (“to clear (a way); to make room for (something); to open up (something); to prepare (something)”) [and other forms], from Old English rīman, rȳman (“to make roomy, enlarge, extend, spread, widen; to make clear by removing obstructions, to clear a way, clear, open up; to amplify; to prolong”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *rūmijan (“to clear out, make room”), from Proto-Germanic *rūmijaną (“to clear out, make room”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewh₁- (“to open; wide”). Doublet of room.
verb rimes · riming · rimed
- To enlarge (a hole), especially using a tool such as a reamer.
- To remove debris from inside (something, such as a freshly bored hole or a pipe) using a tool.
rime⁵
- /ɹaɪm/ US, UK
Sounds like rhyme · Rhymes with -aɪm
Where it comes from
From Irish ruaim, from Old Irish rúam (“alder tree; alder bark; dye for wool made from alder bark; dun or red colour”) (probably whence Irish ruaimnigh, Old Irish rúamnaigid (“to dye red”)); further etymology unknown.
verb rimes · riming · rimed
- To dye (wool or yarn) reddish-brown by boiling or soaking in water with alder twigs.
rime⁶
- /ɹaɪm/ US, UK
Sounds like rhyme · Rhymes with -aɪm
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from Late Middle English rim (“cleft, crack, fissure”), from Latin rīma (“chink, cleft, crack, fissure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)reyH- (“to cut; to tear”). Doublet of rima.
The verb is derived from Latin rīmārī, the present active infinitive of rīmor (“to explore; to probe; to search”), from rīma (see above) + -or.
noun rimes
- A narrow aperture or opening; a chink, a crack, a fissure; a rent, a rip. [T]he ſevvet of oxen […] is alſo good againſt the inflammation of the eares, the ſtupidity and dulneſſe of the teeth, the running of the eyes, the vlcers and rimes of the mouth, and ſtiffneſſe of the neck.
verb rimes · riming · rimed
- Followed by into: to probe, to pry. Our act was, with finger, and nail, and eye, to rime into every jot of it [a case]; and our words were—'I am sure there is something inside. If not, it would open sensibly.'
Translations
Every language
noun any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces — see also hoar frost
| Español | escarcha |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 霜 shimo |
| 中文 | 霜 shuāng |
| हिन्दी | तुषार tuṣār |
| Português | escarcha, geada |
| Français | givre |
| Deutsch | Raureif |
| Italiano | brina |
| Ελληνικά | πάχνη páchni |
| Română | brumă, chiciură, promoroacă |
| Русский | и́ней ínej, и́зморозь ízmorozʹ |
| العربية | بَرَد barad |
noun white hair as an indication of old age
| Русский | седина sedina |
|---|
noun ice formed by the rapid freezing of cold water droplets of fog on to a cold surface; coating or sheet of ice so formed
| Español | escarcha |
|---|
noun the second part of a syllable
| Português | rima |
|---|
Talk about this word "rime." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rime. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rime. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rime "rime." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rime.Cite this
@misc{rime_2026,
title = {rime},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rime},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
