rime.
Archaic in the form rimes: originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces; hoar frost (sense 1).
Meaning & usage
Archaic in the form rimes: originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces; hoar frost (sense 1).
A film or slimy coating.
White hair as an indication of old age.
Ice formed by the rapid freezing of cold water droplets of fog on to a cold surface.
A coating or sheet of ice so formed.
A cold fog or mist.
Where this word 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
To cover (something) with rime (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1 or etymology 1, noun sense 3.1) or (loosely) hoar frost.
To cover (something) with a thin coating or film; to coat.
Sometimes followed by up: of a thing: to become covered with rime or (loosely) hoar frost.
Where this word 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
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).
Where this word 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.
Followed by up: to count (something); to number, to reckon.
Where this word 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.
Synonym of ream. To enlarge (a hole), especially using a tool such as a reamer.
Synonym of ream. To remove debris from inside (something, such as a freshly bored hole or a pipe) using a tool.
Where this word 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.
To dye (wool or yarn) reddish-brown by boiling or soaking in water with alder twigs.
Where this word 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.
A narrow aperture or opening; a chink, a crack, a fissure; a rent, a rip.
Where this word 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.
Followed by into: to probe, to pry.
Where this word 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.
Archaic spelling of rhyme.
Where this word 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.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.