breme

From Middle English brem, breme, from Old English brēme (“famous, glorious, noble”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōmi, from Proto-Germanic *brōmiz (“famous”). Cognate with Latin fremō (“I murmur; I roar”), Ancient Greek βρέμω (brémō, “I roar”), Polish brzmieć (“to be heard”).

• IPA^(key): /bɹiːm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːm
• Homophone: bream

breme

1. (obsolete except Northern England, Scotland or poetic) Of the sea, wind, etc.: fierce; raging; stormy, tempestuous.
   • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:

     Let me, ah! lette me in your folds ye lock, / Ere the breme winter breede you greater griefe.

   • 1748, James Thomson, The Castle of Indolence: […], London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     The same to him glad Summer or the Winter breme.

2. (archaic) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Keen, sharp, alert.

• (fierce; raging; stormy, tempestuous): brim

• EBMer, Ember, berme, ember

breme

1. inflection of bremar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Borrowed from Old French bresme. See French brème.

breme m (plural bremi)

1. bream (of genus Abramis)

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Breme”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.

From Old English breme

breme

1. stormy, tempestuous, fierce
   • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knyghtes Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:

     He was war of Arcite and Palamon / Þat fouȝten breme as it were bores two.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:

     "So upon the morn there came Sir Gawaine as brim (breme) as any boar, with a great spear in his hand."

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• brœ̄me — Anglian

From Proto-West Germanic *brōmi, from Proto-Germanic *brōmiz.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbreː.me/

brēme (superlative brēmest) (West Saxon)

1. (poetic) famous, renowned, glorious

• Middle English: brem, breme
  • English: breme
  • Scots: breme

• brime (Ikavian)

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bermę

• IPA^(key): /brême/
• Hyphenation: bre‧me

brȅme n (Cyrillic spelling бре̏ме)

1. burden, load

• bremènit