| 释义 |
▪ I. room, n.1|ruːm, rʊm|
Forms: (see below).
[Common Teut.: OE. rúm neut., = MDu. ruum, ruym, ruem (Du. ruim), OS. rûm (LG. rûm), OHG. rûm (G. raum), ON. and Icel. rúm (Sw. and Da. rum, Norw. rom), Goth. rūm. The relationship to forms in ru- outside of Teutonic is uncertain.]
A. Illustration of forms.
(α) 1–3 rum, 4 rume.
Beowulf 2690 Ða him rum aᵹeald. c1200Ormin 8489 Þe Laferrd haffde litell rum. a1300Cursor M. 20856 For þis bok has na noþer rume.
(β) 4–6, 9 dial. roum, 4–7 roume, 5–6 rovme.
c1330Arth. & Merl. 6926 (Kölbing), On a swiþe grene roum. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 9168 Þe roume and þe space..In þe cete of heven. c1450Holland Howlat 475 With all the relykis raith, that in that rovme was. c1495The Epitaffe, etc. in Skelton's Wks. (1843) II. 389 Though the roume vnmete were for his pouer degre. 1526Tindale Luke ii. 7 Be cause there was no roume for them. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 13 These great rovmes that you see. 1639Sir W. Mure Ps. civ. 9 The beames of all his high-raisd roumes. 1828Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., Ith roum o comin to me, he went haam.
(γ) 5–6 rowm, 5–7 rowme, 6 rowlm(e.
a1400–50Alexander 4920 He þat ristis in þat rowme. c1440Promp. Parv. 438/1 Rowm, space,..spacium. 1535Coverdale 2 Esdras vii. 4 It was large of rowme. 1562Cal. Rec. Dublin (1891) II. 21 The said rowlme of alderman of this cittie. 1608Church-w. Acc. Pittington, etc. (Surtees) 150 For a rowme to build a stall on. 1654in Campbell Balmerino (1899) 403 Finding that rowme and place not propriat.
(δ) 5–7 rome, 5 rom, rombe, 5–6 romme, 7 rum.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 3230 Ther myght thei alle stonde In romme. c1440Generydes 2044 In euery rome. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. xiii. 366 Dwelling ferther fro thens in rombe. 1530Palsgr. 628/2 Make romme, maysters, here cometh a player. 1552in Vicary's Anat. (1888) 119 As they in theire severall romes doo serve. 1603Owen Pembrokeshire (1892) 255 Their rarietie might have claimed rome in this place. 1684Pennsylv. Arch. I. 86 One in the rum of Ralph withers Deceased.
(ε) 5–7 roome, 5– room.
1494in Househ. Ord. (1790) 109 To bee discharged of their roomes. 1497Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. D iij b/2 His felowes in yt room. 1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. lxxxiv. 3 The sparowes fynde a roome to rest. 1651Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxiv. 211 Substances..take up roome. 1696Church-w. Acc. Pittington 260 A new saxton to be chosen in his roome.
B. Signification.
I.
1. a. Space; dimensional extent.
a1000Genesis 1166 Þa his tiddæᵹe under rodera rum rim wæs ᵹefylled. c1200Ormin 8489 Þe Laferrd haffde litell rum Inn all þatt miccle riche. c1330Arth. & Merl. 7896 (Kölbing), Her main þai kedde & large roume about hem redde. 1375Barbour Bruce xi. 469 So fele battalis and so braid, That tuk so gret rowme as thai raid. c1440Alph. Tales 50 What was þe grettest mervayle & fayrest þing þat evur God made in leste rowme? 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §26 Whan it is mowen, it..taketh more rowme in the barne than shorne corne dothe. a1568R. Ascham Scholem. ii. (Arb.) 114 To draw other mens workes for his owne memorie sake, into shorter rowme. 1601Holland Pliny vii. xxxviii, A painted table,..which tooke up no greate roume. 1699Bentley Phal. 414 Both Labour and Room was saved by their repeated Contractions. 1733Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. 91 It filling less room (by the breaking) is a proof of its specific gravity being increased. 1830Wordsw. Let. to Dyce, In the edition of 1827 it was diligently revised, and the sense in several instances got into less room. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre xxiv, Mr. Rochester won't, though there is so much room in the new carriage. 1855Delamer Kitch. Gard. (1861) 107 Cos lettuces will take up somewhat less room.
†b. on (or by) room, to or at a distance; apart. Obs. Cf. a-room adv.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 4021 Ȝede eft balaam up on-rum. 13..Prov. Hendyng in Pass. Christ (E.E.T.S.) 54 Fle þou most and flitte on roume With eie and eke with herte. c1400Destr. Troy 2835 When the Grekes se the grete nauy, þai girdon o rowme. a1440Sir Eglam. 1087 By rome some stode and hur behelde. 1513Douglas æneis v. x. 14 Eneas..gaif command About the court the peple on rowm to stand.
2. a. Sufficient space; accommodation. (Also with addition of ample, enough, etc.)
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke ii. 7 Hiᵹ næfdon rum on cumena huse. 13..Seuyn Sag. 599 (W.), The ympe had roum, and wexeth fast. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paul) 88 To here hym wes sik prese, þat fawt of rowme gret þar wes. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 3230 To the hauen of Athenes..For ther myght thei alle stonde In romme. 14..Sir Beues (O) 3078 Than began Beuys..to get hym rowme wyth gode Marglay. 1535Coverdale Isaiah xlix. 20 This place is to narow, syt nye together, yt I maye haue rowme. 1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis 147 For laik of rowme, that rubiature Bespewit vp the moderator. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. (1848) 50 How many thousand times more there might be without wanting room. 1671in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 22 It was so hard to get room that wee were forced to goe by four a clocke. 1791Cowper Retired Cat 73 With hunger pinch'd, and pinch'd for room. 1858Lytton What will He do i. iv, All the men who rule England have room in that palace.
(b) Phr. room at the top (freq. fig.)
1900W. James Let. 2 Apr. (1920) II. 121 Verily there is room at the top. S― seems to be the only Britisher worth thinking of. 1914A. Bennett Price of Love vii. 143 The Imperial had set out to be the most gorgeous cinema in the Five Towns; and it simply was. Its advertisements read: ‘There is always room at the top.’ 1929Times 11 Jan. 13/4 When successful men give schoolboys their prizes they generally throw in a little advice. They recommend industry, neatness, punctuality, and other virtues, but they also dwell on the saying that there is always room at the top. 1933W. S. Maugham Sheppey iii. 89 You have to be pretty smart with all the competition there is nowadays... There's always room at the top. 1947‘G. Orwell’ Eng. People 22 The masses..know it is not true that ‘there's plenty of room at the top’. 1957J. Braine Room at Top xxviii. 230 You're the sort of young man we want. There's always room at the top. 196020th Cent. July 79 Academically speaking, the room at the top in sociology is lessening. 1980Times 14 Jan. 5/5 In that last crisis, McEnroe suddenly looked young and vulnerable and Borg's tennis told him bluntly that, for the time being, there was no room at the top.
b. Const. for, or to with infin. no room to swing a cat in and varr.: see swing v.1 7 a.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1999 Ariadne, He..hath roume & ek space To welde an axe. 1417in Surtees Misc. (1890) 12 That Hesyll may have rowme thar to lay hys sole. 1478Earl Rivers in Gairdner Rich. III (1878) App. 396 If ye may get rome for iij or iiij men of thys contre..for to be in the parlement hows. 1535Coverdale Ps. xvii[i]. 36 Thou hast made rowme ynough vnder me for to go. 1587in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 391 For Roome for the office and masters lodging at Grenewiche. 1611Bible Gen. xxiv. 23 Is there roome in thy fathers house for vs to lodge in? 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. iv. §7 There would be room enough for them, and for provision for them. 1757Gray Bard 51 Give ample room, and verge enough The characters of hell to trace. 1795Gentl. Mag. 542/2, I request you will spare room for one tribute more to his memory. 1833H. Martineau Loom & Lugger ii. i. 18 We must teach him..that there is room in the wide world for all. 1840Penny Cycl. XVII. 345/1 The plants..would then have room to grow out. 1868Helps Realmah xvii. (1876) 460 There was not sufficient room for the furniture.
3. to make room:
†a. To clear a space for oneself. Obs.
1375Barbour Bruce vi. 234 He smertly raiss, And, strikand, rowm about him mais. c1400Sowdone Bab. 876 Tho Roulande Durnedale oute-drowe And made Romme abowte. 1470Henry Wallace iii. 140 The Scottis on fute gret rowme about thaim maide With ponȝeand speris. 1535Coverdale Josh. xvii. 15 Make thy selfe rowme there in the londe of the Pheresites and Raphaim.
b. To make way, yield place, draw back or retire, so as to allow one to enter, pass, etc. Similarly to give room, and with imperative suppressed.
(a)c1440York Myst. xxii. 1 Make rome be-lyve, and late me gang. 1470–85Malory Arthur vii. i. 213 There was made pees & rome, & ryght so they yede with hym vnto the hyghe deyse. 1530Palsgr. 628/2 Make romme, maysters, here cometh a player. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 16 Make roome, and let him stand before our face. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage ii. xx. (1614) 222 Make roome, I pray, for another Rabbi with his Bird. 1711Addison Spect. No. 122 ⁋6 Notwithstanding all the Justices had taken their Places upon the Bench, they made room for the old Knight. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms iv. 251 In churchyard on the Sabbath-day They all make room for her.
(b)a1400St. Alexius (Laud 108) 481 Ȝiueþ me roum, & lat me se Þe body þat was boren of me. 1526Tindale Luke xiv. 9 Geve this man roume. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. v. 28 A Hall, Hall, giue roome, and foote it Girles. 1601― All's Well i. ii. 67, I..wish..I quickly were dissolued from my hiue To giue some Labourers roome.
(c)1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 703 Roome for the incensed Worthies. 1601― Jul. C. iii. ii. 170 Roome for Antony, most Noble Antony. 1808Scott Marm. i. xii, Room, lordings, room for Lord Marmion. 1827–35N. P. Willis The Leper 1 Room for the leper! Room!.. The cry pass'd on.
c. To provide or obtain space or place for something by the removal of other things.
1666Pepys Diary 10 Sept., Clearing out cellars, and breaking in pieces all my old lumber, to make room. 1778C. Jones Hoyle's Games 27 Throwing out the best Cards in your Hand..in order to make Room for the whole suit. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 142 He explicitly said..that room must be made for them by dismissing more Protestants. 1895Law Times' Rep. LXXII. 861/2, 750 tons of the coal had been sold to make room for cargo at a South American port.
4. transf. or fig. Opportunity or scope to do something. Also in OE. without infinitive.
In 18th cent. examples the sense sometimes appears to be ‘occasion’, ‘reason’, ‘cause’.
Beowulf 2690 Frecne fyrdraca fæhða ᵹemyndiᵹ ræsde on ðone rofan ða him rum aᵹeald. a1000Boethius Metr. x. 30 Deað þæs ne scrifeð, Þonne him rum forlæt rodora waldend. c1205Lay. 1003 Þe riche haueð muchel rum, to ræsan biforen þan wrecchan.
1535Coverdale Wisdom xii. 19 Euen when thou iudgest, thou geuest rowme to amende from synnes. 1637Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 364 Pray that the Lord wd be pleased to giue me room to speak to His people in His name. 1703Marlborough Lett. & Disp. (1845) I. 170 To give no room to the King of Portugal to fall off again, I should [etc.]. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §183 As soon as the season would give us room to suppose we were likely to have success. 1827Keble Chr. Y. 2 The trivial round, the common task Would furnish..Room to deny ourselves.
b. Opportunity, scope, or opening for something, by which it is rendered possible.
1692R. L'Estrange Fables (1714) 29 There's room yet for a Distinction..betwixt what's done Openly..and a Thing that's done in Hugger-mugger. 1710Steele Tatler No. 198 ⁋ 6 Cælia had no more Room for Doubt. 1726Swift Gulliver i. vii, Still there was Room for Mercy. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xv, There is no room for pardon where offence must not be taken. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xi. III. 100 As to most of the provisions there was little room for dispute. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 122 In such a commonwealth there would be less room for the development of individual character.
c. In uses similar to prec., but more directly transf. from the literal sense.
1577St. Augustine's Manuell Q iiij, Hauyng thee in my hart..so as there may be no rowme in me for any counterfet or vncleane loue. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 174 There's no roome for Faith, Truth, nor Honesty, in this bosome of thine. 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 285 Then there was amongst us such a tyde of tendernesses, there was not room for words. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 331 No room is left for Death, they mount the Sky. 1710Steele Tatler No. 139 ⁋1 Business and Ambition take up Men's Thoughts too much to leave Room for Philosophy. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 268 But while this softer art their bliss supplies, It gives their follies also room to rise. 1868Tennyson Spiteful Let. 14 What room is left for a hater?
†d. Leisure, time to do something. Obs.
1769G. White Selborne xxvi, Where you spent..some considerable time, and gave yourself good room to examine the natural curiosities.
II.
5. a. A particular portion of space; a certain space or area.
c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 9168 Þe roume and þe space þat es contende In þe cete of heven has nane ende. c1440Alph. Tales 50, And all þe wittes of a man is sett in þat litle rowm. a1483Earl Rivers in Gairdner Rich. III (1878) App. 395 Ye will leve a rome..for a skochon of the armez of Wodevile and Scalis. 1509Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 304 It is so grosse, that it occupyeth a rowme..and letteth other bodyes to be presente in the same place. 1587Fleming Cont. Holinshed III. 1537/2 The roome within this close baie conteineth almost fortie acres. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 69 That the whole roome towards the streets may be reserved for shoppes. 1695Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth iii. ii. (1723) 178 Which [Earth] he fancies..to contract it self into a lesser Room. 1755J. Shebbeare Lydia (1769) I. 55 When he was at leeward, he was equally cautious of allowing a proper room, through fear of receiving a shot betwixt wind and water. 1779Johnson Wks. (1787) IV. 478 A journal of the weather..which exhibits in a little room, a great train of different observations. 1833L. Ritchie Wand. by Loire 186 The squares, amounting to thirty-three, are not worth the room which their names would occupy. 1885–94R. Bridges Eros & Psyche April 28 A Zephyr straying out of heaven's wide room Rush'd down.
†b. A (short) space of time. Obs.—1
14..Sir Beues (C) 1007 + 19 Þe Sarsyns yn a rome At that tyme were ouercome.
†c. A space, compartment, or square on an abacus, chess-board, etc. Obs.
1542Recorde Gr. Artes 120 When the summe to be abatyd, in any lyne appeareth greater then the other, then do they borowe one of the next hygher roume. 1562J. Rowbotham Playe of Cheasts A vj b, The king..hath libertie to assault thre roumes or stepps as he listeth.
d. Shipbuilding. (See quots.)
1846A. Young Naut. Dict., Timber-and-Room, Room-and-Timber, Room-and-Space,..in shipbuilding, the distance from the moulding edge of one timber to the moulding edge of the timber next to it. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 66 ‘Room and space’..is the distance occupied by each set of timbers, called a ‘frame’; measured along the keel it varies from 2 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. 9 in. in ships of war. 1874Thearle Naval Archit. 86 These plates..are all in either three, four, or even six room and space lengths. Ibid. 92 Thus the intercostal portions are twice the room and space in length.
†6.
a. A particular place or spot, without reference to its area. Obs.
c1330Arth. & Merl. 6926 (Kölbing), He fond cartes..& loges & pauilouns Telt on a swiþe grene roum. c1440Generydes 2044 The Sowdon..rideth streyte to his pavilion, With lordes abought hym in euery rome. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. xxxviii. 474 Ye may kepe the rome of thys Castel this twelue moneth and a day. 1533Bellenden Livy ii. v. (S.T.S.) I. 145 This cocles, set be aventure in ane rovme maid for defence of þe said brig. 1540Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 94 For my rowme where I shalbe buried. 1611Bible Wisdom xiii. 15 And when he had made a conuenient roume for it, set it in a wall. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 30 If the Soul..settles in some room whence it may best..sway the whole body.
†b. Sc. A place in a series, narration, or logical sequence. Obs.
1590Bruce Serm. Sacram. C 3 b, In the third roume, it coms in to be considered, how [etc.]. 1616in Sprott Scott. Liturgies Jas. VI (1901) 19 We seeking Thy Kingdom and the righteousness of it in the first room. 1721Wodrow Hist. Suff. Ch. Scot. (1830) II. 139/2 Thus, in the first room, our religious and reformation-rights, and next our lives and civil liberties, are laid at the King's feet. 1724― Life J. Wodrow (1828) 4 In the last room I shall give account of his manuscripts.
c. spec. (See quots.) Cf. fishing-room s.v. fishing vbl. n.1 5 b.
1620R. Whitbourne Discourse & Discovery of New-found-land 30 [They] doe cut downe many of the best trees they can finde, to build their stages and roomes..; hewing..and destroying many others that grow within a mile of the Sea, where they use to fish. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Room, a fishing station in the British North American Provinces. 1937P. K. Devine Folk-Lore Newfoundland (Gloss.), Room, a fishing premises: stage, flakes and store. 1948Canad. Geogr. Jrnl. Mar. 110/1 Fishing off Labrador is carried on by fishermen who leave Newfoundland in May or June and reside at ‘rooms’ (buildings used by the fishermen) on various parts of the Labrador coast until the close of the season. 1954F. Briffett Story of Newfoundland & Labrador 32 A man's fishing property—flakes, stages and stores—was known as his room. 1963J. T. Rowland North to Adventure iv. 54 Most of the schooner men had permanent stations, or ‘rooms’,..with storehouses and fish stages. 1975Canad. Antiques Collector Mar.–Apr. 10/2 Of a crew of 40, there would be 24 to man eight small boats and 16 to work on the room.
7. Sc.
†a. pl. Domains, dominions, territories, bounds. Obs.
c1470Henry Wallace vi. 270 Sa he begane with strenth and stalwart hand To chewyss agayne sum rowmys off Scotland. 1533Bellenden Livy i. iii. (S.T.S.) I. 26 The romanis increscit Ilk day in new mvnitioun, bringand new rowmes vnder þare dominioun. 1560Rolland Seven Sages 1 Rome..Conquest grit realmes, lordschips and rowmes braid. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xviii. 39 Lat neuer þai Ruffians within ȝour rowmis reill.
b. An estate in land; a piece of ground held or occupied by one; a farm. Now rare.
1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxix. 6 For rekkyning of my rentis and roumes, Ȝe neid nocht for to tyre ȝour thowmes. 1546Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 22 In thair personis, landes, rowmes, possessionis, and gudis. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xxiii. 30 Thair was sum that tuik thy rowmis in few. c1657Sir W. Mure Hist. Ho. of Rowallane Wks. (S.T.S.) II. 242 Garnegep and Calder, rowmes now not knowne by these names. 1688W. Scot of Satchell Hist. Name Scot (1776) 45 Ev'ry pensioner a room did gain, For service done and to be done. 1808Jamieson s.v., Room is still commonly used for a farm. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xlv, Zealous professors,..to whom the preceding Duke of Argyle had given rooms in this corner of his estate. 1884Scotsman 26 July 3/1 Three merks..of Land in the room of Gord, Keotha, and Bremer in the Parish of Cunningsburgh.
8. a. An interior portion of a building divided off by walls or partitions; esp. a chamber or apartment in a dwelling-house. † Formerly also, a compartment, bay, stall (of a barn, stable, etc.).
See also the combs. bed-, dining-, drawing-room, etc.
1457–8Durh. Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 637, j grangie de 5 rowmez... Pro factura j rowme in tenemento. 1556–7Cal. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 460 None shall devyde the dwelling howses of this cittie into sondrie rowlms for their private gayn. 1598Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 61 Search Windsor Castle... Strew good lucke (Ouphes) on euery sacred roome. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 58 Under the fortification of the Castle round about, are stables for horses, and some roomes for like purposes. 1653D. Osborne Lett. (1888) 132 'Tis a very fine seat, but..Sir Thomas Cheeke..told me there was never a good room in the house. 1703Neve City & C. Purchaser 61 To distribute the whole Ground-plot..into Rooms of Office, or Entertainment. 1760Wesley Wks. (1872) III. 12, I was obliged once more to coop myself up in the Room. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ii, The room appeared to have been built in modern times upon a Gothic plan. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 122 Low seats which generally extend along three sides of the room. 1891E. Peacock N. Brendon II. 67 The rooms of the cottage were low.
transf. and fig.1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Dec. 68 The honey Bee, Working her formall rowmes in wexen frame. 1608Topsell Serpents (1653) 643 The whole Combe containeth four orders of Cells; the first the Bees occupy... The last is appointed for the room of Honey-making. 1629Sir W. Mure True Crucifix 30 Our harts for Him..A rowme should bee to rest in, and reside.
b. spec. (chiefly pl.) a room or rooms for public gatherings, an assembly room, auction room, gambling room, etc.; at Lloyd's of London, the area where insurance business is carried out.
1766C. Anstey New Bath Guide vii. 45 The Captain is come, And so kind as to go with us all to the Room. Ibid. viii. 48 (heading) Mr. B-n-r-d goes to the Rooms. His opinion of Gaming. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. I. 115 In the forenoon, they crawl out to the Rooms or the coffee⁓house. 1779F. Burney Diary Oct. (1842) I. 254 In the evening we all went to the rooms. The rooms, as they are called, consisted, for this evening, of only one apartment, as there was not company enough to make more necessary. 1822W. Hazlitt in New Monthly Mag. IV. 112 An old gentleman..who looked as if he had played many a rubber at the Bath rooms. 1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. I. ii. xv. 291 They moved off together to saunter through the rooms, Sir Hugo saying as they entered the large saal—‘Did you play much at Baden, Grandcourt?’ 1904A. E. W. Mason Truants xxiii. 217 She..bought a visitor's list at the kiosk in front of the rooms. 1928A. Christie Mystery of Blue Train xxvii. 214 He found [him] in the Rooms, jauntily placing the minimum stake on the even numbers. 1931N. & Q. 29 Aug. 155/2 Book auctions.—May I voice a long overdue protest against the pernicious and iniquitous custom prevailing in the ‘Rooms’ of doing up parcels of books with string. 1933D. C. Peel Life's Enchanted Cup x. 121 The Rooms were so crowded that I could not get near enough to play at my chosen table. 1946G. Stimpson Bk. about Thousand Things 51 This bell, which hangs in a clock-topped tower in ‘Lloyd's Rooms’ was salvaged from the frigate Lutine. 1962H. O. Beecheno Introd. Business Stud. xvi. 153 He [sc. the broker] will then take this in to ‘the Room’ at Lloyd's and approach one or more leading underwriters. 1972[see old boy].
c. pl. Chambers or apartments occupied by a person or persons; lodgings.
1837Dickens Pickw. ii, I trust I shall have the pleasure of seeing you and your friend at my rooms. 1879M. E. Braddon Clov. Foot xxviii, Can I have his rooms for a few nights? I..don't want to go to a hotel. 1886C. E. Pascoe London of To-day xxii. (ed. 3) 213 The rooms of the Society of Arts..are in John Street.
d. Sc. and north. dial. (See quots.)
1795Statist. Acc. Scot. XV. 339 The rent of a room and kitchen, or what in the language of the place is stiled a but and a ben. 1829Hogg Sheph. Cal. vi, The Room, which, in those days, meant the only sitting apartment of a house. 1877Holderness Gloss., Room,..the parlour or sitting-room.
e. The persons assembled in a room; the company.
1712Addison Spect. No. 269 ⁋12 His venerable Figure drew upon us the Eyes of the whole Room. 1898Hewlett Forest Lovers vi, As for the..old soul by the fire, she kept her back resolutely on the room.
9. In various technical applications:
a. One of the passages or spaces for working left between the pillars of a coal-mine. Chiefly in phr. pillar and room, Sc. stoop and room. Cf. pillar n. 7, post n.1 7 d.
1789J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 8 The boards or rooms in which the colliers are working. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 960 Each miner continues to advance his room or working⁓place, till [etc.]. Ibid. 975 [The system of] working with pillars and rooms, styled post and stall. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 206 Room and Rance (S.), a system of working coal somewhat similar to double stall. 1893Labour Commission Gloss. s.v. Stoop, In the stoop and room the seam is divided into pillars called stoops by passages at right angles to each other called rooms.
b. A measure of coals (see quot. 1883).
1800Colquhoun Comm. Thames iii. 147 Coals are sometimes bought by what is called the Room. 1824Mech. Mag. 90 Some merchants..will promise to give sixty-eight sacks to a room. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 206 Room,..a weight of 7 tons of coal, or 51/4 chaldrons by measure.
c. Naut. (See quot.)
1805Mast-room [see mast n.1 4 b]. c1850Rudim. Nav. (Weale) 143 Rooms, the different vacancies between the timbers, and likewise those between the beams, as the mast-rooms, capstan-room, hatch-room, &c.
d. local. The space between the thwarts of a boat. (A Scandinavian sense.)
1855Norfolk Words in Trans. Phil. Soc. 35 Room, the space between thwarts. 1896Good Wds. Jan. 17/1 The sean is shot. It had lain a huge brown heap in its proper ‘room’ or compartment of the boat. 1899Spence Folk-Lore 127 The boat was divided into six compartments, viz., fore-head, fore-room, mid-room [etc.]... The shott was double the size of a room.
10. attrib. and Comb.
a. (in sense 8), as room air, room-bell, room-door, room-grate, room number, room paper, room rent, room ticket; room-fellow, room maid, room-keeper; room-breaking vbl. n.; room clerk, in a hotel, guest-house, etc., a clerk who assigns rooms to patrons; room divider: see divider 9; room service, the provision of food or drink for a hotel guest in his room, or the department providing this; room temperature, the temperature of a, or the, room, esp. that which is comfortable for occupants, conventionally taken as about 20°C; also attrib. and fig.; room-to-room attrib., (of a telephone) connecting rooms within the same building.
1957Encycl. Brit. XI. 353/1 Louis Savot..developed for the Louvre a fireplace in which room air was drawn through passages under the hearth and behind the fire grate. 1975New Yorker 22 Dec. 78/3 He decided to discontinue Berger's oxygen therapy. He wanted him breathing room air again.
1861Chambers's Encycl. II. 12/2 The use of room-bells is universal.
1951S. Spender World within World 36 After the room-breaking episode the attitude of my fellow freshmen towards me altered.
1916W. A. Du Puy Uncle Sam, Detective 49 The room clerk had suggested that it was the custom of the hotel that guests without baggage should pay in advance. 1978S. Sheldon Bloodline xxxiii. 315 Before Max left Chamonix, he stopped at the desk of the Kleine Scheidegg hotel and talked to the room clerk.
1866J. Macgregor Rob Roy on Baltic 192 The rioter is my English room-companion of the Norway inn.
1824Scott St. Ronan's xxxviii, I'll bring word to your room-door..how she is.
1930R. Macaulay Staying with Relations ix. 122 Snakes might be her companions, wild cats her room-fellows, but she..abandoned herself to these.
1828Moir Mansie Wauch 53 The prices of the room-grate, the bachelor's oven, the cheese-toaster.
1722De Foe Col. Jack ii, One of our room-keepers says, he saw a couple of young rogues..hanging about there.
1922Joyce Ulysses 304 The meal should be divided..among the members of the sick and indigent roomkeepers' association. 1955A. Ross Australia 55 xv. 212 The room-maid says the world will end, not with an atom bomb, but with a flood. 1976Evening Standard 14 June 26/3 (Advt.), Room maids, m/f, required by London Penta Hotel.
1959A. Christie Cat among Pigeons iv. 54 Must have given me the wrong room number. 1968‘M. Carroll’ Dead Trouble ii. 22 The receptionist..asked what room number. 1976H. Nielsen Brink of Murder xii. 94 Send up a fifth of Buchanan's... You know my room number.
1870P. Fitzgerald in All Year Round V. 112/1 The decorations of the Jericho Theatre are rather of a homely cast, room paper garnished with bead mouldings. 1973Canad. Antiques Collector Jan.–Feb. 20/1 A few scattered stories of the early elegance of room paper survive.
1818N. Amer. Rev. Mar. 427 The room rent and wood are estimated upon the condition that two students live in a College room. 1851C. Cist Sk. Cincinnati in 1851 65 The annual term bill for room-rent..and incidental expenses is ten dollars. 1883Cent. Mag. Sept. 739 It pays room rent and lights. 1942Amer. Mercury July 90 That meant..maybe room rent and a reefer or two.
1930A. Bennett Imperial Palace vii. 32 The head floors-waiter did not conceal his belief that the room-service was the basis of prosperity. 1935Wodehouse Luck of Bodkins xxiv. 311 If you go to that phone and call Room Service, you can get all the champagne you want. 1949O. Nash Versus 99 (title) Mrs. Purvis dreads room service. 1965I. Fleming Man with Golden Gun vii. 94 Order what you want from Room Service. 1971R. Thomas Backup Men xviii. 156 The room service waiter..brought the hamburgers and coffee. 1974P. Gore-Booth With Great Truth & Respect 155 The only way I found of getting any relaxation at all was to be extravagant and have ‘room service’ breakfast. 1978Time 3 July 47/2 Half-eaten room-service sandwiches.
1924J. G. A. Skerl tr. Wegener's Orig. Continents & Oceans 128 They can prove that the earth is about two or three times as rigid at room-temperature as steel. 1945R. T. Rolfe Dict. Metallogr. 4 It may consist..of a period of standing at room temperature. 1959J. Braine Vodi xiv. 193 Of course the red wine should be at room temperature. 1962Simpson & Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors ix. 211 The effect of these two factors is to make it desirable to place the operating point at a lower point than would be decided by room-temperature conditions. 1974Times 13 Nov. 12/5 Put the mixture..overnight in the refrigerator. Allow to come up to room temperature again before baking. 1976I. Levin Boys from Brazil v. 143 He wasn't accorded a warm or even room-temperature welcome. 1977Nature 17 Feb. 660/2 The bK590 intermediate..has a lifetime of 2 µs at room temperature.
1905A. Bennett Tales of Five Towns ii. 264 She pushed his room-ticket across the page of the big book. 1938Room-to-room [see buzz n.1 1 d].
1786Abercrombie Gard. Assist. 291 Placing the glasses..in a room-window to the sun.
b. room-bound, room-ridden ppl. adjs., confined to one's room. room-sealed ppl. adj. (see quot. 1967).
1855Dickens Dorrit i. xv, As the room-ridden invalid settled for the night. 1857A. Mathews Tea-Table T. II. 62, I was generally room-bound, and therefore unable to attend public worship. 1963B.S.I. News May 15/2 B.S. 3561 refers to fan-assisted air heaters,..and room-sealed heaters, giving requirements for their construction and performance. 1967Gloss. Terms Gas Industry (B.S.I.) 78 Room-sealed appliance, an appliance which, when in operation, has the combustion air inlet and the combustion products outlet isolated from the room in which the appliance is installed.
III. †11. a. A place in which one is stationed or seated; a particular place assigned or appropriated to a person or thing. Obs.
a1400–50Alexander 330 With þat rysis vp þe renke & his rowme lefys. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xxx. 113 Euery man cam forth for to doo his deuoyre, eche of hem in his rowme in defending the place. 1513Sir T. More Rich. III, Wks. 42/1 To whome the Duke of Buckingham saide, goe afore Gentlemenne and yomen, kepe youre rowmes. 1565Jewel Reply Harding (1611) 213 Eustathius..was the President, and the Bishop of Romes Legates..sate in the fourth roome beneath. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 108 Go thou and fill another roome in hell. 1610Fletcher Faithf. Sheph. iv. i, A blast..by chance may come, And blow some one thing to his proper room. 1672Davies Rites Durham 33 Were placed, in their several Rooms, one above another, the most excellent Pictures. 1698[R. Ferguson] View Eccles. 8 The Terms Mr. Lobb hath been contending for, are not hitherto allowed a room in the Confessions of Faith of the Reformed Churches. 1721Wodrow Hist. Suff. Ch. Scotl. (1830) II. 140/2 The 11th act of this session..deserves a room in this collection.
transf.c1611Chapman Iliad ix. 568 All the Greeks will honour thee, as of celestiall roome.
b. Contrasted with company, in phrases denoting that the absence of a person is preferred to his presence. Also transf.
1577Stanyhurst Descr. Irel. 7/2 For such a scoffing prelate, hys rowme had bene better then his company. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 645 Better his roome, than company (quoth ech one). 1646Fuller Wounded Consc. (1841) 283 Preferring his room, and declining his company, lest his sadness prove infectious to themselves. 1672H. More Brief Reply 306, I must confess I had rather have their [sc. images] room than their Company. 1724H. Jones Virginia 53 Felons..whose Room they had much rather have than their Company. 1770Placid Man II. 219 You would as lief have my room as my company. 1880Adam & Eve 328 I'd rather have his room than his company.
†c. A place or seat in the theatre. Obs.
1599B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. ii. i, Yet he pours them [names] out as familiarly, as if he had..ta'en tobacco with them over the stage, in the lord's room. 1600E. Blount Hosp. Incurable Fooles Ep. Ded., I beg it with as forced a looke, as a Player that in speaking an Epilogue makes loue to the two pennie-roume for a plaudite. 1611Coryat Crudities 248 They sate on high alone by themselues in the best roome of all the Play-house. a1619[see penny-room s.v. penny 12].
†d. transf. A settled place in a person's affection or regard. Obs.
1598–9Ford Parismus i. (1636) 121 Let Pollipus..be the man that shall possess the second room in your good liking. 1607Hieron Wks. I. 211 Are these things strangers to thy thoughts, or doe they take vp a chiefe roome in thy affections? 1685Baxter Par. N.T. Phil. i. 7 You have a great room in my heart.
†12.
a. An office, function, appointment; a post, situation, employment. Obs.
Exceedingly common in the 16th century.
c1483H. Baradoun in Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1903) 289 In the courte, is many noble Roome; But god knowith, I can noon soche cacche. 1485Rolls of Parlt. VI. 357/2 Th' Office or Rowme of oon of the Yomen of oure Crowne. 1514Mem. Ripon (Surtees) I. 303 We have yeven and graunted unto hym th' office and rowme of baner berer befor S. Wilfride. 1589Hay any Work 19 To haue the romes of the true and natural members of the body. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus, Ann. vi. iii. (1622) 125 One is appointed over the rest to exercise the roome of a Consull. 1605Camden Rem. (1623) 249 He..forsooke a right worshipfull roome when it was offered him. 1644Bulwer Chirol. 146 That none should be admitted into roomes of divine calling, but such who are called and are fit.
†b. Without article: Office, position, authority.
1480Robt. Devyll in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 37 A Jue sate at the borde, that greate rowme longe In that house beare. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) II. 13 If that thou be hye of rowme and name If thou offende the more shall be thy shame. 1541Paynell Catiline iv. 5 To some desirous therof he behight roume and auctoritie. 1582N. T. (Rhem.) John x. 1 note, Calvin, Luther,..and al that succede them in roome and doctrine.
†c. to bear (the) room, to be in office or authority; to have all the power. Obs.
1526Skelton Magnyf. 786 Beryst thou any rome, or cannyst thou do ought? 1530in Furniv. Ballads fr. MSS. I. 317 Marchaunte Strayngers beryth the Rowme. 1534Whitinton Tullyes Offices ii. (1540) 99 In that yere that I bare roume.
†13.
a. An office or post considered as pertaining to a particular person, esp. by right or by inheritance. Obs.
c1450Holland Howlat 984 Bot thow reule the richtuiss, thi rovme sall orere. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2517 This noble abbesse..dylygently prepared to supple her rowme. 1586J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 151 He..procured them to be remoued, and their roomes to be supplied with..learned Englishmen. 1628Milton Vac. Exerc. 58 Then quick about thy purpos'd business come, That to the next I may resign my Roome. 1651N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. i. (1739) 7 The Dukes..forsake the Court, Favourites step into their rooms. 1699T. C[ockman] Tully's Offices (1706) 290 That Man..that outs the rightful Heirs..and procures himself to be put into their Rooms. 1751C. Labelye Westm. Bridge 83 The Rooms of those removed or dead, being filled up with Persons fully as honest.
b. in one's room, in one's place, denoting substitution of one person or thing for another. (In early use with reference to offices or appointments.)
(a)1489Caxton Faytes of A. iii. viii. 183 Takynge his leue he sayth to the captayne that he shall putte another for hym in his rowme. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 279 In whose roume afterward succeded George Selde a Civilan. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 53 b, That he may be put from his office, and some other placed in his roome. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 69 Detaining many of them in prison..that others of his owne followers might bee placed in their roomes. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 285 Be thou in Adams room The Head of all mankind. 1706Vanbrugh Mistake 11, A proposal..to take you (who then were just Camillo's age) and bring you up in his room. 1771Chron. in Ann. Reg. 137 The names of the Earl of Granard..and Lord Sudley..to be added to the list in their room. 1800Scott Let. in Lockhart (1837) I. x. 321, I refer you for particulars to Joseph, in whose room I am now assuming the pen. 1883Catholic Dict. s.v. Carthusians, With grief he [St. Bruno] left his beloved companions, the most prudent..of whom, Landwin, he appointed prior in his room.
(b)1599Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 304 Warre-thoughts Haue left their places vacant: in their roomes Come thronging soft and delicate desires. 1673Austen Fruit Trees ii. 148 As these are removed the husbandman plants others in their roomes. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 172 If several Elms should die successively in the same Place, you should put Lime-Trees..in their Rooms. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 354 The old long hair falling off, and a shorter coat of hair appearing in its room.
c. in the room of, in the place († or office) of, in lieu of, instead of, a person or thing. (Cf. prec.)
(a)1535Coverdale Matt. ii. 22 But when he herde that Archelaus did raynge in Iury, in y⊇ rowme of his father Herode. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 60 So we placed other men in the roomes of those that we lost. 1667Pepys Diary 1 Sept., The Attorney General is made Chief Justice in the room of my Lord Bridgeman. 1709Steele Tatler No. 11 ⁋9 Declared Alderman..in the Room of his Brother,..deceased. 1838Thirlwall Greece IV. 41 A Spartan named Leon..had taken the command in the room of Pedaritus. 1854A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. s.v., He went in the room of another.
(b)1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Garden (1626) 30 An eye or bud, taken..from one tree, and placed in the roome of another eye or bud. 1668Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgment 4 It is much out of use, and new Expedients substituted in roome thereof. 1736Butler Anal. i. v, To substitute judgment in the room of sensation. 1749Fielding Tom Jones v. iv, You must let me have my old one again, and you may have this in the room on't. 1846Trench Huls. Lect. Ser. ii. i. 142 In the room of shifting cloud-palaces..stands for us a City which hath come down from heaven.
d. Used with vbl. ns. Now dial.
1802E. Parsons Myst. Visit III. 144 In the room of loitering about Paris..I shall have the..pleasure of being..a little useful. 1828Carr Craven Gloss. [see Forms β]. 1861Macm. Mag. Dec. 141/2 Missis would still keep going on with her parties and company, o' rum o' minding her farm and dairy.
▪ II. room, n.2 Obs. exc. dial.|ruːm|
Also 6 rome, roome.
[Of obscure origin.]
Scurf on the head; dandruff.
1578Lyte Dodoens 262 The same..doth cure..the scurffe or roome of the head. Ibid. 410 The lye..is very good to washe the scurffe of the head,..causing the rome and scales to fall off. 1847Halliw., Room, dandruff. Somerset. 1886Elworthy W. Somerset Wd.-Bk. s.v.
▪ III. room, a. Obs. exc. Sc.|ruːm|
Forms: 1, 3 rum, 3 rume; 4–5 roume (4 roumm), 4–6 rowm(e, 5 rowmme; 4–5 rome, 5 romme, rombe; 6–9 room (7 roome).
[Common Teut.: OE. rúm, = OFris. rūm (mod.Fris. rûm, rom), MDu. ruum, ruym (Du. ruim), MLG. rûm, ruem (LG. rûm), OHG. rûmi, ON. rúmr (Sw. and Da. rum, Norw. rom): cf. room n.1]
†1. Spacious, large, ample in dimensions; wide, extensive. Obs.
Beowulf 2462 Þuhte him eall to rum wongas & wic-stede. c825Vesp. Psalter xxx. 9 Ðu ᵹesettes in stowe rumre foet mine. Ibid. ciii. 25 Ðis sæ, micel & rum. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xix. §1 Behealde he..hu neara þære eorðan stede is, þeah heo us rum þince. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. vii. 13 Se weᵹ is swiðe rum, þe to forspillednesse ᵹelæt. c1200Ormin 3689 He wollde ȝifenn uss All heoffness rume riche. c1250Owl & Night. 643 Mi nest is holeuh & rum amidde. a1300Cursor M. 3318 Fodder and hai þou sal find bun; Na roummer sted in al þe tun. a1340Hampole Psalter lxxvii. 15 In þe felde of thaneos, þat is, in þe rowme stede of meke comaundment. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 225 Ther was no rommer herberwe in the place. a1400Morte Arth. 3470 A renke in a rownde cloke, with righte rowmme clothes. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. lxxvii, I was anon In broght Within a chamber, large, rowm, and faire. c1470Henry Wallace vii. 986 A rowme passage to the wallis [thai] thaim dycht. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 379 He set his feild furth on ane rowmar plane. 1560Rolland Seven Sages 13 Lat vs þair mak ane hous baith rowme & squair. c1635N. Boteler Dial. Sea Serv. (1685) 133 It causeth a Ship to be much Roomer (that is larger) within Board.
†b. the room sea, the open sea. Obs.—1
c1400Sc. Trojan War ii. 1978 Tharfor in haist to þe rowme se Thai torned and held on þar way.
†c. Open to choice. Obs.—1
1481Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 108 Whan reynard herde that it stode so rowme that he shold chese to knowleche hym ouercomen and yelde hym Or ellis to take the deth.
†2.
a. Distant, remote. Obs. rare.
c1449Pecock Repr. i. xiv. 79 Doom of resoun..as the next and best reule, and the power of resoun as for the romber and ferther reule. Ibid. ii. xx. 272 Into departing and disseuering and into rombe distaunt being.
†b. Of winds: = large a. 14. Obs.
1632Lithgow Trav. ii. 45 This hauen wherein we lay, expecting roome windes. Ibid. 59 Having roome windes, and a fresh gale, in 24. houres we discovered the Ile.
3. Sc. Clear, unobstructed, empty.
Some cognate uses are found in OE. texts.
1641Ferguson Sc. Prov. 4 b, A fair fire makes a roome flet. 1710Ruddiman Gloss. Douglas' æneis s.v. Roume, We say, To make a room house, when one drives them out that are in it. 1810J. Cock Simple Strains I. 142 (E.D.D.), When in their beds and snugly laid There's silence and a room fireside.
†4. Comb.: room-handed, -hende adjs., liberal, generous; room-house, a privy (cf. long-house s.v. long a. 18). Obs.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 29 Ȝef þu..best rum-handed to glewmen. c1205Lay. 6538 He wes..radful and rihtwis and a mete rum-hende. c1250Owl & Night. 652 Men habbeþ among oþre iwende A rum-hus at heore bures ende.
▪ IV. room
obs. variant of rum a.
▪ V. room, adv.
Forms: 1 rume, 4 romme, 4, 6–7 rome, 6–7 room(e. compar. 6 rowmer, 6–7 romer, 7 roamer, rummore.
[OE. rúme, f. rúm adj., = OS. and OHG. rûmo.]
†1. Widely; far and wide; to or at a distance. Obs.
a1000Genesis 1456 Heo wide hire willan sohte & rume fleah. Ibid. 1895 Sceoldan..þa rincas þy rumor secan ellor eðelseld. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 80 Whi farest þou so fihtinge, folk to distroie, & for to winne þe word wendest so romme? Ibid. 581 Of richesse & of renoun romme be ȝe kidde. c1449Pecock Repr. v. xiii. 553 Whilis thei stonden or sitten or knelen rombe fer ech from othir.
2. Amply; fully; to the full. Now dial.
a1000Genesis 1372 Drihten..rume let willeburnan on woruld þringan. c1000Saxon Leechd. I. 282 Hyt rum þa wyrmas forð ᵹelædeþ. 13..Sir Beues 1860 Þe geaunt was wonder-strong, Rome þretti fote long. 1969G. M. Brown Orkney Tapestry 134 Guidman, go to your bacon And cut us doon a daggon Cut it lucky, cut it room, Look 'at you dunno cut your toom.
3. Naut.
a. = large adv. 7 a.
Very common from c 1580 to 1630.
1564Sparke in Hawkins' Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 10 He espied another Island,..and being not able..to fetch it by night, went roomer untill the morning. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xi. 13 Leauing the coast..we bare roome to seawards. 1597J. Payne Royal Exch. 33 Hale bollinge to double the poynt, a luff from the rock, rowmer from the sand. 1622Relat. Eng. Plantation Plymouth in Arber Pilgr. Fathers (1897) 435 We could not fetch the harbour, but were fain to put room again, towards Cape Cod. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 19 The Chase pays away more room. Ibid., The Chase goes away room, her Sheets are both aft. 1902J. M. Barrie Little White Bird xv. 163 He was drifted towards the far shore, where are black shadows he knew not the dangers of, but suspected them, and so..went roomer of the shadows until he caught a favouring wind.
b. Const. with the land, etc.
1537Adm. Court Exemplifications i. No. 174 Seeing a ship coming somewhat rome with theym. 1557Jenkinson in Hakluyt Voy. (1599) I. 310 The wind vering more northerly, we were forced to put roomer with the coast of England againe. Ibid., We were forced to beare roomer with Flamborow head.
▪ VI. room, v.1 Now dial. or arch.|ruːm|
Forms: 1 rumian, 3–4 rumen, 3–5 rume (5 ruym); 4–5 roume (5 reume), 5–6 rowm(e, 6 rovm; 5 rom(e, 9 room.
[OE. rúmian, f. rúm room a.; perh. formed anew in ME. Parallel forms are Fris. rûmje, romje, Da. rumme, Fær. rúma, Norw. roma. The usual OE. verb was rýman: see rime v.4]
†1.
a. intr. To become clear of obstructions.
c1000Saxon Leechd. I. 76 Drince ðreo ful fulle on niht nistiᵹ; þonne rumað him [sc. the man] sona se innað.
†b. trans. To clear (the throat). Obs.—1
1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 372 b/1 Take a softe egge and bere hit to suster Andree of ferriere for to rume her throte.
2. trans. To clear (a space) from persons or things, esp. by superior force. Now arch.
a1375Joseph Arim. 597 Euer-more þe white kniht hem þe place roumede. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxv. 3182 Quhen þe feld was rowmyt swa, The Duke of Burgone..On a syd enterit in þe place. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 245 Guycharde and I shall rowme the waye afore you. c1500Lancelot 3385 Neuer mycht be sen His suerd to rest, that in the gret rout He rowmyth all the compas hyme about. 1513Douglas æneis xii. xii. 38 Quhen voydit weill and rowmyt was the feild.
1816W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. XLI. 527 For them the monks had room'd their eating hall.
†b. To remove, shift. Obs.—1
13..Seuyn Sag. 2468 (W.), Th' emperour had wonder of this, And let reume his bed.
†3.
a. intr. To give way; to depart. Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13072 On alle sides he smot aboute, & made þeym roum [text rounn] þorow-out þe route. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 2 Whan þis weith at his wil weduring hadde, Ful raþe rommede he rydinge þedirre.
†b. trans. To vacate, leave, abandon. Obs.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 189 And yf he [a cat] wratthe, we mowe be war and hus way roume. 1481Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 31 Many of his lignage..token leue soroufully, and romed the court. Ibid. 61 On the morow erly he ruymed his castel and wente with grymbart. 1513Douglas æneis x. viii. 18 Seand Rutylianis Withdraw the feyld sa swyth, and rovm the planis. 1566Drant Horace, Sat. vi. D vj, I may rome my mastership, wheresoeuer lyketh me.
†c. refl. To betake (oneself) off; to give (oneself) free scope. Obs.
1598W. Phillip tr. Linschoten i. xcii. 148 Comming with the ship,..he had almost laid her on ye same place, where the other was cast away: but day comming on, they romde themselues off, and so escaped. 1621R. Bolton Stat. Irel. 313 He had a scope of a hundred and twentie miles long and a hundred and odd miles broade to runne and roome himself.
4. trans. To extend, enlarge. Obs. exc. dial.
a1300Cursor M. 14922 Es resun þat wee vr rime rume And set fra nu langer bastune. c1325Chron. Eng. 83 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 273 Fourti fet, roumede and grete, Into the see he made him lepe. c1425Wyntoun Cron. vii. (Wemyss) 1936 Than Iohne bischop of Glasgw Rowmyt þe kirk of Sanct Mongw.
1894Heslop Northumbld. Gloss., Rooming-down, extending the bottom of a bore hole. A term used by sinkers.
▪ VII. room, v.2|ruːm|
Also Sc. 6– roum, rowm.
[f. room n.1]
†1. Sc.
a. trans. To install. Obs. rare.
1567Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 533 To that effect that he may be inaugurat, placeit, and rowmit thairin. 1663Sir G. Mackenzie Relig. Stoic xii. (1685) 114 Nothing is roomed in our judgment and apprehension but what first entered.
†b. To assign (common pasturage) proportionally among the different ‘rooms’ or lands entitled to share in it.
Used only in connexion with soum v.; for illustrations see that word.
2. chiefly U.S.
a. intr. To occupy rooms as a lodger; to share a room or rooms with another; to live together in the same room(s). Also to room it.
1828Mrs. Stowe Let. in Life (1889) ii. 41 She rooms with me, and is very interesting and agreeable. 1856― Dred ii, Clayton and Russel had..roomed together their four years in college. 1860Ann. Amherst College 47 Many of the students who roomed in the College lost their all. 1888Howells A. Kilburn iii, I didn't let him room in your part of the house; that is to say, not sleep there. 1912F. M. Hueffer Panel i. i. 19 She and me were on the old North Circuit. Roomed it and ate off the same old herring together. 1937Observer 22 Aug. 7/2 He dressed like a hobo, hitch-hiked from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and roomed on the town's Main Street as a plain British seaman. 1969L. Michaels Going Places 167 Slotsky helped him with chemistry and French—Finn's reason for rooming with him in the first place. 1973Time 25 June 11/1 John..roomed with Barry Goldwater Jr., who now is his neighbor. 1977Western Mail (Cardiff) 5 Mar. (Rugby Suppl.) 4/2 It was on that tour that I developed a close friendship with many of the Welsh players... TGR and JPR I roomed with on many occasions, waiting on them hand and foot. 1979Yale Alumni Mag. Apr. (Suppl.) cn12/1 Charlie, with whom I roomed, stayed through freshman year.
b. trans. To accommodate or lodge (guests).
1860Blackw. Mag. Jan. 112/2 A miserable public house, where I was ‘roomed’, or in other words, put into the same room with, a rising medical practitioner. 1864Daily Tel. 13 Oct., The door's open, and if they couldn't room any more guests they'd pretty soon close up, I guess. 1892Rep. Amer. Mission. Assoc. 101 We have to room them with the normal and college students in the college buildings.
▪ VIII. † room, v.3 Obs.—1
? To stretch out, aim at.
a1400–50Alexander 2466 Roomes [v.r. rooues] noȝt at þe raynbowe þat reche ȝe ne may.
▪ IX. room
obs. form of roam v., Rome. |