bream

From Middle English breme, from Old French breme, bresme, braisme, brasme (compare modern Old French brème), from Frankish *brahsma, *brahsima (compare Dutch brasem), from West Germanic *brahsmō (compare Old High German brahsma, brahsmo, brahsina, brehsina > modern German Brasse, Brachse (“bream”)), from Proto-Germanic *brahsmǭ, *brahsinō, *brahsmaz (“bream”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *brehwanaz (“shining, glittery, sparkly”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerek- (“to shine”) (see braid (verb)).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɹiːm/
  • Rhymes: -iːm
• (US) IPA^(key): /bɹɪm/

  Audio (US)

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  • Rhymes: -ɪm
  • Homophone: brim

bream (plural bream or breams)

1. A European fresh-water cyprinoid fish of the genus Abramis, little valued as food. Several species are known.
2. (Britain) A species in that genus, Abramis brama.
3. An American fresh-water fish, of various species of Lepomis and allied genera, which are also called sunfishes and pondfishes.
4. A marine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera. See sea bream.

• (Abramis brama): carp bream

• silver bream
• white bream

Compare broom, and German brennen (as in ein Schiff brennen).

bream (third-person singular simple present breams, present participle breaming, simple past and past participle breamed)

1. (nautical) To clean (e.g. a ship's bottom of clinging shells, seaweed, etc.) by the application of fire and scraping.

• Amber, Brame, amber, bemar, brame, embar