"cleam" meaning in English

See cleam in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /kliːm/ [Received-Pronunciation], /klim/ [General-American] Forms: cleams [present, singular, third-person], cleaming [participle, present], cleamed [participle, past], cleamed [past], clame [alternative], claim [alternative]
Etymology: 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”). Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|clemen}} Middle English clemen, {{inh|en|ang|clǣman|t=to smear, anoint}} Old English clǣman (“to smear, anoint”), {{inh|en|gmw-pro|*klaimijan}} Proto-West Germanic *klaimijan, {{inh|en|gem-pro|*klaimijaną|t=to smear with clay, mortar}} Proto-Germanic *klaimijaną (“to smear with clay, mortar”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*gley-|t=to stick, glue}} Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to stick, glue”) Head templates: {{en-verb}} cleam (third-person singular simple present cleams, present participle cleaming, simple past and past participle cleamed)
  1. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To smear, rub on, or anoint; to bedaub with an oily or sticky substance. Tags: dialectal, transitive
    Sense id: en-cleam-en-verb-TmrGcu~b Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 68 14 19 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 58 18 24 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 78 9 13
  2. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To cause to stick; to glue on. Tags: dialectal, transitive
    Sense id: en-cleam-en-verb-SYOuIcVN
  3. (intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To stick, cling to, or adhere. Tags: dialectal, intransitive
    Sense id: en-cleam-en-verb-MsHSBvOZ
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: clam, clammy, clay, cloam

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "clemen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English clemen",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "clǣman",
        "t": "to smear, anoint"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English clǣman (“to smear, anoint”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*klaimijan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *klaimijan",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*klaimijaną",
        "t": "to smear with clay, mortar"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *klaimijaną (“to smear with clay, mortar”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gley-",
        "t": "to stick, glue"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to stick, glue”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cleams",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cleaming",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cleamed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cleamed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "clame",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "claim",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "cleam (third-person singular simple present cleams, present participle cleaming, simple past and past participle cleamed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "clam"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "clammy"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "clay"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "cloam"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "68 14 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "58 18 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 9 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To smear, rub on, or anoint; to bedaub with an oily or sticky substance."
      ],
      "id": "en-cleam-en-verb-TmrGcu~b",
      "links": [
        [
          "smear",
          "smear"
        ],
        [
          "rub",
          "rub"
        ],
        [
          "anoint",
          "anoint"
        ],
        [
          "bedaub",
          "bedaub"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To smear, rub on, or anoint; to bedaub with an oily or sticky substance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause to stick; to glue on."
      ],
      "id": "en-cleam-en-verb-SYOuIcVN",
      "links": [
        [
          "stick",
          "stick"
        ],
        [
          "glue",
          "glue"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To cause to stick; to glue on."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To stick, cling to, or adhere."
      ],
      "id": "en-cleam-en-verb-MsHSBvOZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "stick",
          "stick"
        ],
        [
          "cling",
          "cling"
        ],
        [
          "adhere",
          "adhere"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To stick, cling to, or adhere."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kliːm/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/klim/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "cleam"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "clemen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English clemen",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "clǣman",
        "t": "to smear, anoint"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English clǣman (“to smear, anoint”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*klaimijan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *klaimijan",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*klaimijaną",
        "t": "to smear with clay, mortar"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *klaimijaną (“to smear with clay, mortar”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gley-",
        "t": "to stick, glue"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to stick, glue”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cleams",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cleaming",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cleamed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "cleamed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "clame",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "claim",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "cleam (third-person singular simple present cleams, present participle cleaming, simple past and past participle cleamed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "clam"
    },
    {
      "word": "clammy"
    },
    {
      "word": "clay"
    },
    {
      "word": "cloam"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dialectal terms",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To smear, rub on, or anoint; to bedaub with an oily or sticky substance."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "smear",
          "smear"
        ],
        [
          "rub",
          "rub"
        ],
        [
          "anoint",
          "anoint"
        ],
        [
          "bedaub",
          "bedaub"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To smear, rub on, or anoint; to bedaub with an oily or sticky substance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dialectal terms",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause to stick; to glue on."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "stick",
          "stick"
        ],
        [
          "glue",
          "glue"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To cause to stick; to glue on."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dialectal terms",
        "English intransitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To stick, cling to, or adhere."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "stick",
          "stick"
        ],
        [
          "cling",
          "cling"
        ],
        [
          "adhere",
          "adhere"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, now chiefly dialectal) To stick, cling to, or adhere."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kliːm/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/klim/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "cleam"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.