Meanings
bream1
plural breams
- An American fresh-water fish, of various species of Lepomis and allied genera, which are also called sunfishes and pondfishes.
bream2
present singular third person breams · participle present breaming · participle past breamed · past breamed
Bream3
plural Breams
- countableuncountableA surname.
- countableuncountableA village in West Dean parish, Forest of Dean district, Gloucestershire, England (OS grid ref SO6005).
- countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA species in that genus, Abramis brama.
More synonyms by meaning
nounflesh of various freshwater fishes of North America or of Europe
nounflesh of any of various saltwater fishes of the family Sparidae or the family Bramidae
nounany of numerous marine percoid fishes especially (but not exclusively) of the family Sparidae
nounany of various usually edible freshwater percoid fishes having compressed bodies and shiny scales; especially (but not exclusively) of the genus Lepomis
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
bream · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰerek-“to shine”
- Proto-Germanic*brehwanaz“shining, glittery, sparkly”
- Proto-Germanic*brahsmô
- Proto-West Germanic*brahsmō
- Frankish*brahsma
- Old Frenchbreme
- Middle Englishbreme
- Englishbream
From Middle English breme, from Old French breme, bresme, braisme, brasme (whence French brème), from Frankish *brahsma, *brahsima (whence Dutch brasem), from Proto-West Germanic *brahsmō (whence Old High German brahsma, brahsmo, brahsina, brehsina (whence German Brasse, Brachse (“bream”))), from Proto-Germanic *brahsmô, *brahsinō, *brahsmaz (“bream”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *brehwanaz (“shining, glittery, sparkly”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerek- (“to shine”) (see braid (verb)).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Frankish
Full word history & related roots →bream · verb
Compare broom, and German brennen (as in ein Schiff brennen).
Full word history & related roots →Bream · proper noun
English surname, from an obsolete derivative of the root of the noun broom. Also from the adjective breme (“famous”). Compare the spelling variant Braham.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَبْرَامِيس, سَمَك البْرِيم
- أَبْرَامِيس (ʔabrāmīs)fish of the genus Abramis
- سَمَك البْرِيم (samak al-brīm)Abramis brama
Basque platuxa
- platuxaAbramis brama
Bulgarian платика, платика
- платика (platika)fish of the genus Abramis
- платика (platika)Abramis brama
- спарид (sparid)marine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera
Catalan brema
- bremaAbramis brama
Chinese Mandarin 魴 /鲂
- 魴 /鲂 (fáng)fish of the genus Abramis
Czech cejn, cejn velký
- cejnfish of the genus Abramis
- cejn velkýAbramis brama
Danish brasen, brasen
- brasenfish of the genus Abramis
- brasenAbramis brama
Dutch brasem, brasem
- brasemfish of the genus Abramis
- brasemAbramis brama
Esperanto bramo
- bramoAbramis brama
Estonian latikas
- latikasAbramis brama
Finnish lahna, lahna
- lahnafish of the genus Abramis
- lahnaAbramis brama
- pagellimarine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera
French brème, brème
- brèmefish of the genus Abramis
- brèmeAbramis brama
- brème communeAbramis brama
- pageotmarine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera
German Brasse, Brachse
- Brassefish of the genus Abramis
- Brachsefish of the genus Abramis
- BrasseAbramis brama
- BrachseAbramis brama
- BrachsenAbramis brama
- BleiAbramis brama
- BrachsmeAbramis brama
- BrachsmenAbramis brama
- BresenAbramis brama
Greek αβραμίδα, σπάρος
- αβραμίδα (avramída)Abramis brama
- σπάρος (spáros)marine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera
Hungarian keszeg, dévérkeszeg
- keszegfish of the genus Abramis
- dévérkeszegAbramis brama
Italian breme, abramide comune
- bremefish of the genus Abramis
- abramide comunefish of the genus Abramis
- abramideAbramis brama
- abramide comuneAbramis brama
- bremeAbramis brama
Japanese ブリーム
- ブリーム (burīmu)Abramis brama
Latin sparulus, sparulus
- sparulusfish of the genus Abramis
- sparulusAbramis brama
Latvian plaudis, plaudis
- plaudisfish of the genus Abramis
- plaudisAbramis brama
Lithuanian karšis
- karšisAbramis brama
Norwegian brasme
- brasmefish of the genus Abramis
Norwegian Bokmål brasme
- brasmeAbramis brama
Polish leszcz, leszcz
- leszczfish of the genus Abramis
- leszczAbramis brama
Portuguese brema, brema-do-mar
- bremafish of the genus Abramis
- brema-do-marAbramis brama
- mudfishAmerican freshwater fish, of various species of Pomotis and allied genera
- esparídeomarine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera
Romanian plătică
- plăticăAbramis brama
Russian лещ, лещ
- лещ (lešč)fish of the genus Abramis
- лещ (lešč)Abramis brama
- чёрный лещ (čórnyj lešč)Asian species, Megalobrama terminalis
Spanish brema, besugo
- bremafish of the genus Abramis
- besugofish of the genus Abramis
- bremaAbramis brama
- pláticaAbramis brama
Swedish braxen, braxen
- braxenfish of the genus Abramis
- braxenAbramis brama
Turkish çapak balığı
- çapak balığıAbramis brama
Ukrainian лящ
- лящ (ljašč)Abramis brama
Vietnamese cá vền
- cá vềnAbramis brama
Welsh merfog
- merfogAbramis brama
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with bream
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
bream. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bream
“bream.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bream. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bream,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bream.
Source: bream on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.