cleam

C3L1E1A1M3
UK/kliːm/US/klim/

verb

To smear, rub on, or anoint; to bedaub with an oily or sticky substance.

OriginMiddle English clemen ← Old English clǣman ← Proto-West Germanic *klaimijan →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

verbcleam (third-person singular simple present cleams, present participle cleaming, simple past and past participle cleamed)

present singular third person cleams · participle present cleaming · participle past cleamed · past cleamed · alternative clame · alternative claim

  1. dialectaltransitiveTo smear, rub on, or anoint; to bedaub with an oily or sticky substance.
  2. dialectaltransitiveTo cause to stick; to glue on.
  3. dialectalintransitiveTo stick, cling to, or adhere.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gley-“to stick, glue”
  2. Proto-Germanic*klaimijaną“to smear with clay, mortar”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*klaimijan
  4. Old Englishclǣman“to smear, anoint”
  5. Middle Englishclemen
  6. Englishcleam

From Middle English clemen, from Old English clǣman (“to smear, anoint”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaimijan, from Proto-Germanic *klaimijaną (“to smear with clay, mortar”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to stick, glue”).

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

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

camelMalecmacle
Cite this entry
APA

cleam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cleam

MLA

“cleam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cleam. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cleam,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cleam.

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