leam

L1E1A1M3
/liːm//lɛm/

verb

To gleam; shine; glow.

Similar
leadleashLem
OriginMiddle English lemen ← Old English līeman ← Proto-West Germanic *liuhmijan →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

leam1

verbleam (third-person singular simple present leams, present participle leaming, simple past and past participle leamed)

present singular third person leams · participle present leaming · participle past leamed · past leamed · alternative leem · alternative leme

  1. UKdialectalintransitiveTo gleam; shine; glow.

leam2

nounleam (plural leams)

plural leams · alternative leem · alternative leme

  1. UKdialectalA gleam or flash of light; a glow or glowing.

    The Leams of the morning sun streamed through the half-closed shutters

    1816, [Walter Scott], The Antiquary. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC

leam3

nounleam (plural leams)

plural leams · alternative leem · alternative leme

  1. A cord or strap for leading a dog.

    The horsemen spreading themselves along the side of the cover, waited untill the keeper entered, leading his ban-dog; a large blood-hound tied in a leam or band, from which he takes his name.

    1808, Joseph Strutt, [Walter Scott], “Section [IX]. Chapter II.”, in [Walter Scott], editor, Queenhoo-Hall, a Romance: And Ancient Times, a Drama. […], volume IV, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for John Murray, […]; and Archibald Constable & Co. […], →OCLC, pages 48–49

    Synonyms: lead, leash

Leam4

proper noun
  1. A river in England that rises in Northamptonshire, before flowing through Warwickshire and joining the Warwickshire Avon near Warwick.
  2. A hamlet in Grindleford parish, Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire, England (OS grid ref SK2379).
  3. informalLeamington Spa

    Synonyms: Lem

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA cord or strap for leading a dog.

Similar
leadleash

proper nounLeamington Spa

Similar
Lem
Also see
gleam

Origin

leam · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewk-“light, bright”
  2. Proto-West Germanic*liuhmijan
  3. Old Englishlīeman
  4. Middle Englishlemen
  5. Englishleam

From Middle English lemen, from Old English līeman, from Proto-West Germanic *liuhmijan, from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light, bright”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

leam · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*leuk-“light, bright”
  2. Proto-Germanic*leuhmô“light, shine”
  3. Old Englishlēoma“ray of light, beam, radiance, gleam, glare, lightning”
  4. Middle Englishleme
  5. Englishleam

From Middle English leme, from Old English lēoma (“ray of light, beam, radiance, gleam, glare, lightning”), from Proto-Germanic *leuhmô (“light, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *leuk- (“light, bright”). Cognate with Icelandic ljómi (“gleam, ray, beam, flash of light”), Latin lumen (“light”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

leam · noun

See leamer, lien.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with leam

themmteamstreamprimeseemdreamemextremeschemesupremebeamsteamstemredeemregimememchemBDSMdemgemremupstreamscream
All rhymes →

Anagrams

malemeallamemelaElmaElamamellemaEMLA
Cite this entry
APA

leam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leam

MLA

“leam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leam. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leam,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leam.

Source: leam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.