Etymology

teem

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Today it means: To be stocked to overflowing. Full definition →

Middle English temen ← Anglian Old English tēman ← Proto-West Germanic *taumijan
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teem · verb, noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*taumijaną
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*taumijan“to bridle”
  3. Anglian Old English · inherited fromtēman“to give birth”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromtemen“to bear, to support”
  5. English todayteem

From Middle English temen (“to bear, to support”), from Anglian Old English tēman (“to give birth”) (West Saxon Old English tīeman), from Proto-West Germanic *taumijan (“to bridle”), from Proto-Germanic *taumijaną, from *taumaz ("bridle", continued in Modern English as team).

teem · verb2

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*tōmijaną“to empty, make empty”
  2. Old Norse · derived fromtœma
  3. Middle English · inherited fromtemen“to drain”
  4. English todayteem

From Middle English temen (“to drain”), from Old Norse tœma, from Proto-Germanic *tōmijaną (“to empty, make empty”). Cognate to Swedish tömma. Related to English toom (“empty, vacant”). More at toom.

teem · verb3

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*temaną“to fit”
  2. Old English · inherited from*teman
  3. Middle English · inherited fromtemen“to be suitable, befit”
  4. English todayteem

From Middle English temen (“to be suitable, befit”), from Old English *teman, from Proto-Germanic *temaną (“to fit”). Cognate with Low German temen, tamen (“to befit”), Dutch betamen (“to befit”), German ziemen. See also tame (adjective) and compare beteem.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.