Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

leam

/liːm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.68 in modern English

Syllables: leam
IPA: /liːm/

6

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To gleam; shine; glow.

British usage; Intransitive verb

noun

A gleam or flash of light; a glow or glowing.

British usage

noun

A cord or strap for leading a dog.

name

A river in England that rises in Northamptonshire, before flowing through Warwickshire and joining the Warwickshire Avon near Warwick.

name

A hamlet in Grindleford parish, Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire, England (OS grid ref SK2379).

name

Informal

Example Sentences

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

Etymology

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

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: lemen, līeman, *liuhmijan, *lewk-, leme, lēoma

Usage

Inflected Forms

leams (present, singular) leaming (participle, present) leamed (participle, past) leamed (past) leem (alternative) leme (alternative) leams (plural)

Derived Forms

leamer

Frequently Paired Words

gleam

Synonyms

lead leash Lem

Homonyms

leme

Rhymes With

team a team seem dream prime supreme cream stream on stream extreme scheme steam

Questions

How do you pronounce leam?: The recorded pronunciation is /liːm/.
What does leam mean?: To gleam; shine; glow.
Where does leam come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce leam

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “leam”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/liːm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “leam”.
Repeat and practice — Say “leam” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.