ramn.1
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/ 1.
a. An adult male sheep; spec. (in domestication) one kept for breeding purposes, a tup (opposed to wether n. 1a).
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > uncastrated or ram
rameOE
tup13..
billerc1560
Roger1762
stone-ram1765
buck1812
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > uncastrated or ram > kept for breeding purposes
rameOE
breed-rama1661
ram-getter1790
wether-getter1790
teaser1823
stallion1842
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lxiv. 14 Induti sunt arietes ouium : gegerede sind rommas scepa.
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xxii. 13 Abraham..geseah ðær ænne ram betwux þam bremelum be ðam hornum gehæft.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1136 Þe ramm wass offredd forr þe preost.
c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1906) 13* Hurtonur rute ierce, Ram blismyth a yeue.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1786 (MED) Þar suam, Side and side, wolf and ram.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 50 They..hurteled togydirs lyke too rammes.
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 104 (MED) Man ys hardy as a lyon..rebell as a rambe [L. rebellus vt paruus rex].
a1529 J. Skelton Colyn Cloute (?1545) sig. A.vv To kepe..theyr spirituall lammes Sequestred from rammes.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xiii. 30 You must couple him with a ramme or a stoute Sheepe.
a1628 J. Carmichaell Coll. Prov. in Scots (1957) No. 192 A sarie ramb gets a sarie lamb.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 114 Ev'n though a snowy Ram thou shalt behold, Prefer him not in haste, for Husband to thy Fold. View more context for this quotation
1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons (new ed.) 72 The sturdy Boy Holds by the twisted Horns th' indignant Ram.
1790 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Gen. Hist. Quadrupeds 39 The Ram lives to the age of about fifteen years, and begins to procreate at one.
1840 R. H. Barham Lay St. Nicholas in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 262 Holy Church denieth all search 'Midst her sanctified ewes and her saintly rams.
1860 Times 10 July 5/7 The 34th annual letting of Mr. Jonas Webb's celebrated rams took place on Thursday, and was attended by a large circle of English and foreign breeders.
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 157 Breeding pure-blooded rams for sale.
1934 Bulletin (Sydney) 1 Aug. 22/2 The original Corriedale flock, started with Lincoln rams on Merino ewes.
1996 Entertainm. Weekly 12 Apr. 53/1 I'd never want to get near a ram, but I wouldn't want to pet any of the nasty animal-righters..either.
b. As a reward given to the victor in a wrestling match. Now historical.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > prize
rama1325
a1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (Arun.) (1857) 144 (MED) A la lute dereynetz le toup [glossed] Wyn the ram [v.rr. rom, raam] atte wrestli.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 550 At wrastlynge he wolde haue alwey the Ram.
c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 280 Tho þat wardeynes were of þat wrastlyng Come and broughte Gamelyn þe ram and þe ryng, And seyden, ‘Haue, Gamelyn þe ryng and þe ram For þe best wrasteler.’
c1435 (c1350) Gamelyn (Royal 18 C.ii) 184 Here be side brother is cried a wrastlynge And þer fore shal be sette a ram and a rynge.
1937 H. S. Bennett Life on Eng. Manor x. 274 We do not feel so censorious, and like to think of these peasants at the end of the day..watching stout carls like Chaucer's miller winning his ram or wrestling successfully against all comers.
c. colloquial. A lecherous or sexually voracious man; (also) a sexually aggressive or domineering man.
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society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > lasciviousness or lust > [noun] > lascivious or lustful person > lustful man
satyr1591
goat1601
capriped1727
ram1919
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. i. 88 Euen now, very now, an old blacke Ram Is tupping your white Ewe. View more context for this quotation]
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang Ram, one who butts the old ewes and wedder-lambs of the village; for which reason, widows, copyholders of the Nymet towns, did penance on the back of a ram, black.
1919 W. H. Downing Digger Dial. 40 Ram, a rake.
1946 Penguin New Writing 28 185 ‘Yes, it's the Chalk all right,’ Willie said. ‘The old ram!’ he added, happily.
1977 J. Wainwright Do Nothin' viii. 128 One day, May will rise up on the ram she has for a husband and pan him in the chops.
1994 I. Welsh Acid House 45 Gosh, Val, he's such a ram. The other day he just grabbed me, threw me down on the couch and had me right there and then.
2.
a. Astronomy and Astrology. With the. (The English name of) the constellation and zodiacal sign Aries.
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the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > particular signs > [noun] > Aries
ramOE
Ariesc1374
wether1565
OE Ælfric De Temporibus Anni (Cambr. Gg.3.28) iv. §14. 28 Ælce monað heo yrnð under an ðæra tacna. An ðæra tacna is gehaten Aries, þæt is Ramm.
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. i. 62 On þæt tacen þe ys Aries, þæt ys ram, genemned.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 8 The yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne.
c1450 tr. Secreta Secret. (Royal) 27 (MED) Ver bigynneth whan þe sonne entrith into the signe of þe Ram.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 142 Quhen Aryet [read aryet] the hot syng coloryk, In-to the Ram quhilk had his Rowmys Ryk.
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. A*.i The Ram doth cause to spring, eche herbe and floure.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. vi. 95 Here in the Zodiack begins The Ram, the Bull, the loving Twins.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 110 'Till the new Ram receives th' exalted Sun. View more context for this quotation
1754 B. Franklin Poor Richard's Almanac (1987) 1279 Aries and Taurus, that is, the Ram and the Bull, represented the successive Addition to their Flocks of Sheep and Kine, by their Produce in that Season, Lambs and Calves.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. III. 572 A line drawn from Procyon, by Aldebaran, westward, leads you to the constellation called the Ram.
1868 W. Lockyer & J. N. Lockyer tr. A. Guillemin Heavens (ed. 3) 330 Between the square of Pegasus and the Bull we meet with two constellations, the Fishes and the Ram.
1936 Times 24 Mar. 17/5 In the time of the Greeks the sun's entry into the Ram..marked the beginning of the year, when the sun was overhead at the Equator.
1998 Observer (Nexis) 8 Mar. 47 Those born under the Water Carrier and the Ram are both handed romantic possibilities.
b. Astrology. Usually with capital initial. A person born under the zodiacal sign Aries; = Aries n. 2.
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the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > particular signs > [noun] > Aries > person born under
Arian1917
Aries1936
ram1978
1978 N. Freeling Night Lords xxxix. 182 Commissaire Richard, a Ram born on the fourth of April.
1985 M. E. Coleman How to astro-analyze Yourself i. 18 Typical Ram personalities have minds that go with their passion for rushing in where angels fear to tread.
2004 Eve Dec. 220/2 Single Rams looking to get lucky should..get out there.
3.
a. A heavy beam used for breaching walls or doors, by striking them forcefully and repeatedly; = battering-ram n. Also figurative and in figurative contexts.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > battering-ram
rameOE
wether14..
bowstowrec1425
rammera1460
montonc1515
battle-ram1535
horse1601
battering-ram1611
ram-engine1632
battering-engine1774
battering-machine1774
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxi. 161 Besittað hie utan [sc. ða burg],..& ðerscað ðone weall mid rammum [L. pones arietes in gyro].
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 12 Aries byð..ram to wealgeweorce.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 96 Olde werriours in olde tyme..vsede to make her toures rounde to voyde þe strook of þe raam.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xii. 27 The barmkin law smait with the rammis fast.
1569 T. Stocker tr. Diodorus Siculus Hist. Successors Alexander iii. viii. 113/2 He had also many other engines called Rammes very large and great to batter any wall.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. ii. 30 Let not the peece of Vertue which is set Betwixt vs,..be the Ramme to batter The Fortresse of it. View more context for this quotation
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 74 Now the King's Captains had brought with them several slings, and two or three Battering-Rams;..and with their Rams they sought to break Eargate open. View more context for this quotation
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Aries Vitruvius affirms, that the Ram was first invented by the Carthaginians, while they laid Siege to Cadiz.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc vii. 241 Force ye the lists, and fill the deep-dug moat, And with the ram, shake down their batter'd walls.
1829 T. Carlyle in Foreign Rev. Jan. 466 Concede him this, and his ram swings freely to and fro through space.
1884 Manch. Examiner 14 Oct. 5/7 They brought planks, and by using them as rams, broke open one of the reserved doors.
1936 M. P. Charlesworth Five Men iii. 77 Still the assault continued relentlessly; a great ram was brought up to batter the walls, and they began to give way under its blows.
1989 Encycl. Brit. I. 963/1 The ram itself..was swung back and forth by its operators against the besieged structure.
2004 E. Conlon Blue Blood vi. 204 They take a door with a ram or a kind of jack, which pops it out from the frame, and then charge in.
b. Nautical (a) A battleship fitted with a solid projection for piercing the sides of other ships; (b) the projection itself. Now historical.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ram
ram1858
ram-bow1865
ram stem1867
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > vessel fitted with ram
ram1858
ram steamer1862
ram vessel1862
ram cruiser1881
1858 G. R. Sartorius Let. 14 May in Times Sept. 14 7/4 My notion is that the steam ram should have stem or stern (for each is either) of the same form, and at each end a massive projecting prow or rostrum by means of which the blow is to be given.
1862 C. Ellett Let. 7 June in W. J. Tenney Mil. & Naval Hist. Rebellion U.S. 169/1 After..the gunboats and one of my rams had passed below.
1863 F. Moore Rebellion Rec. V. i. 6/2 Four of the rebel boats had rams.
c1869 Ld. C. E. Paget Autobiogr. (1896) 335 There was but little damage done to them by shot or shell. The ram was the deadly weapon.
1898 C. A. Dana Recoll. Civil War iii. 37 First came seven ironclad turtles and one heavy armed ram.
1919 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Feb. 107/3 ‘The light-hearted snottie’ who nipped in his piquet boat across the knife-edged ram of a fast travelling cruiser.
1939 R. G. Albion Rise N.Y. Port xiv. 310 Next came an even larger ship from the Webb yard, the 5090-ton ironclad ram Dunderberg.
1949 Greece & Rome 18 127 The earliest representation of a non-Greek ship with a definite ram appears on the Assyrian reliefs of Sennacherib.
1987 Daily Tel. 17 Aug. 9/7 The most characteristic feature of the vessel is its gleaming bronze ram which resembles the snout of a swordfish.
2006 Commerc. Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 26 Dec. a1 The Battle of Memphis, fought in the Mississippi River on June 6, 1862, pitted a Union armada of ironclads, rams and mortar boats against a ragtag flotilla of Confederate gunboats and paddleboats.
c. U.S. regional (Chesapeake Bay). A type of narrow schooner having three masts of an equal height, a flat bottom, and no topsails.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel propelled by sail > [noun] > with specific rig > fore and aft rigged > schooner > schooner-rigged vessels
schooner-frigate1799
mackinaw boat1812
ballahoo1815
schooner barge1819
Jack1845
schooner-yacht1876
bugeye1877
jackass schooner1879
buckeye1885
butterman1885
schooner yawl1889
ram1904
Tancook schooner1933
goelette1948
1904 Naut. Gaz. 14 Apr. 211/1 Geo. K. Phillips & Co., Bethel, Del., have on the stocks a three-masted ram schooner 140 ft. long.
1909 Sun (Baltimore) 1 Aug. 14/2 Capt Andrew Hubbard, who later, with all hands, was lost at sea, saw the queer craft coming down stream. He shouted at Captain Insley ‘That's certainly a Nanticoke ram.’
1961 J. E. Marvil Sailing Rams 9 Ram, 3 masted bald headed schooner, flat bottom, straight sides without jib boom built and sailed mainly on Chesapeake Bay.
2004 Capital (Annapolis, Maryland) (Nexis) 6 May a5 The channel here could accommodate Chesapeake schooners, three-masted rams and steamboats, the workhorses for bay shipping until highways took over.
d. Eton College. Originally: the action of scoring an extra point in a game of Eton football, after scoring a rouge, by charging in column and forcing both the opponents and the ball over the line; (also) the column of players itself. Also in extended use: either of the columns of sixth formers processing into the college chapel.
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society > travel > [noun] > passage in a continuous stream > procession
processionOE
drightfarea1225
precessiona1400
processionc1400
walking1449
train1489
walk1563
processioning1593
band1611
solemnity1636
proceeding1660
cavalcade1670
parade1673
cortège1679
processionade1762
processional1820
crocodile1891
ram1912
processing1920
paseo1927
croc1948
1912 Times 2 Dec. 12/5 The Cambridge ‘ram’..fell upon their enemies in noble fashion and forced the rouge in no time.
1922 S. Leslie Oppidan xvii. 200 A strange procession... There was no variation in the ram, as it was called by a football metaphor.
1930 Daily Tel. 1 Dec. 21/2 On the last occasion Lori-Phillip touched a rouge, but the ram failed.
1942 J. Lees-Milne Ancestral Voices (1975) 30 Then to evensong in [Eton] College Chapel where the traditional ceremonial is invariable. The ‘ram’ marches in the same deliberate, self-conscious manner.
1977 A. J. Ayer Part of My Life ii. 44 After scoring a rouge the attackers could gain an extra point by charging in column and bundling their opponents and the ball into the goal. The column was known as a ram, which was also the name given to the twin columns of Colleger and Oppidan sixth-formers, as they processed into Chapel.
2003 Daily Mail (Nexis) 24 Mar. 26 While he was still at Eton he played for the school's third team and led its ‘Ram’, a manoeuvre now banned where four players lined up behind each other and ran towards their immobile opponents.
e. An underwater projection from an iceberg or other body of ice.
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the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > [noun] > projection of
ice belt1840
ice tongue1856
ice foot1917
ram1952
1952 Functional Gloss. Ice Terminol. (U.S. Navy Hydrogr. Office) 22 More rapid melting at the water line than above and below causes a notch to be formed at the water line below which is the ram.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia IX. 160/2 This iceberg had a ram (underwater projection), as most icebergs do by the time they enter the warmer waters near the Gulf Stream.
1976 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 124 644/1 Ice headlands are elevated because the underwater ‘ram’ at the seaward side gives more buoyancy.
1985 Science 15 Mar. 1277 (caption to front cover illustration) This photograph illustrates..recent spalling of the front face, undercutting or notching by waves at the waterline, and the presence of underwater rams.
4. † b. Shipbuilding. A spar used for driving blocks and planks. Obsolete.† c. Any of various other tools or machines with a similar action, as (a) a steam hammer used in shaping a mass of puddled iron before rolling; (b) the piston or plunger of a force pump; (c) an instrument for ramming down paving stones (cf. rammer n. 2). Obsolete.
a. The weight or hammer of a pile-driving machine; (also) the machine as a whole.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > driving or beating tools > [noun] > pile-drivers > weight of
ram1256
tup1884
1256 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1992) v. 86 (MED) Rammes.
1350 in H. T. Riley Memorials London (1868) 262 (MED) [Two engines with three] rammes, [for ramming the piles of the said bridge].
1440 in C. Welch Tower Bridge (1894) 55 Lesser Rennyng ram.
1462 in C. Welch Tower Bridge (1894) 55 Drawing the Gebet ram in pylyng lez stadelles next the bridge.
1473 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1992) v. 86 (MED) [A machine called a] Fallyng Ramme.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1536/2 Some of those piles were..driven into the maine rocke of chalke, with a great engine called a ram.
1611 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) 645 With the Ram they driue-in mighty Piles In Dover Peer.
1739 C. Labelye Short Acct. Piers Westm. Bridge 21 Supposing the Ram or Weight to be 1700 lb.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 36 The Ram and Follower resting on the Head of the Pile.
1832 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges (ed. 2) vii. 383 The piles are..driven with heavy rams till they will sink no further.
1944 J. H. Bennetts in R. Greenhalgh Pract. Builder i. 19/2 The winch is employed to hoist the heavy ram until the trip supporting hook is disengaged, thus freeing the weight and allowing it to fall on the pile with a ramming blow.
1985 Technol. & Culture 26 58 Designs were proposed in which the ram, reaching a certain height, dropped of its own weight.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > tools and equipment
ram-line1664
set1794
poker1823
horning-tackle1850
planking clamp1862
stower1863
planking-screw1864
ram1867
bending slab1890
warrok-
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Ram, a long spar, iron-hooped at the ends, used for driving out blocks from beneath a vessel's keel, and for driving planks an end [i.e. lengthways] while only wedged to the ship's side.
1876 Times 20 Oct. 8/3 The shipwrights had been vigorously applying hammers and rams upon the remaining blocks under the keel.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > driving or beating tools > [noun] > rammers
stamper1484
wilkin1495
rammer1497
monkey1750
Hercules1794
punner1844
ram1875
boser1930
sheep's foot roller1934
society > occupation and work > equipment > pump > [noun] > plunger or piston
box1531
pump shoe1534
shoe1576
force1596
pestle1604
bucket1634
forcer1634
plug1642
syringe1659
ram1875
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1877/2 Ram,..4. A steam-hammer used in connection with the squeezer in setting up the bloom as it is lengthened by the action of the squeezer.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Forcer, a pump by which the water is raised with a ram or plunger.
1885 Antiquary Oct. 146/1 Each man..threw down the ram with a thud.
5. In full hydraulic ram.
a. A device in which, by an arrangement of valves, a body of water descending in a pipe is brought to rest suddenly and its kinetic energy used to raise a small portion of the water above the original level or to deliver it at increased pressure.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > hydraulic
ram1801
water ram1806
hydraulic ram1808
water balance1843
society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > for raising water
well bucket1477
flail?a1500
kettle-mill1570
scoop1580
water engine1611
chain-pumpa1618
cochlea1648
water-screw1648
engine1652
bucket-fountain1663
chain1682
noria1696
tub-engine1702
tub-gin1702
well-pole1727
screw engine1729
rag1747
rag pump1747
swape1773
picotah1780
water balance1800
ram1801
well sweep1818
shadoof1836
hydraulic belt1856
water carrier1875
bailer1883
trip-bucket1926
1801 S. Shaw Hist. & Antiq. Staffs. II. 121/2 The New Hydraulic Ram, which is a self-moving water-work applicable to agricultural purposes.
1809 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 99 22 Almost in the same manner as a stream of water strikes on the valve of the hydraulic ram.
1851 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm (ed. 2) I. 27/1 The ram may be described as a sloping pipe in which the stream runs [etc.].
1876 Nature 15 June 160/1 When a small quantity [of water] is required to be raised to a considerable height the Montgolfier ram is employed.
1932 Virginia Law Rev. 18 238 What difference does it make if a ram is installed to force the same quantity of the water up to his home..so that it can be more conveniently used?
1994 Amer. Scientist Oct. 470/3 Another transformer, a so-called hydraulic ram, makes water flow uphill, because a sudden surge of flow downhill drives a smaller surge to a higher level than that of the original reservoir.
b. The larger or working piston of a hydraulic press, in which the pressure of fluid pumped into the cylinder acts over the cross-sectional area of the rod to produce a force typically used to lift heavy loads or to apply compression. Also: a hydraulic press.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for altering dimensions > [noun] > press > parts of presses
worm1548
platen1594
follower1678
thrusting-screw1794
ram1816
1816 J. Smith Mechanic II. 396 It is desirable..to make use of the larger pump rod to raise the ram as expeditiously as possible.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1031 The hollow cylinder of the press, which, as well as the ram, is made of cast iron.
1858 D. Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Philos.: Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, & Heat (new ed.) 10 The ram, the immediate object that receives and transmits the pressure.
1861 Times 7 Oct. 9/1 There were several men engaged in pumping water into the ram. I observed..that they were lifting the girder with one ram.
1862 Internat. Exhib.: Illustr. Catal. Industr. Dept. II. x. §2255 The hydraulic rams will safely lift a dead weight of 6000 tons.
1891 Science 6 Nov. 255/1 The press consists of an anvil block below and a ram above, the work being in a vertical direction. The ram works in a hydraulic cylinder.
1909 Chatterbox 175/2 A workman moves a lever, and a great hydraulic ram raises the platform high in the air above the ship's side.
1969 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 311 331 In conventional direct extrusion..the metal billet..is compressed in a container by a ram, and is forced through the orifice of the die in the direction of the ram travel.
1991 Atom Jan. 3/3 The new mechanical rig..can test the strength of large plates of metal by exerting a force of up to 10 000 tonnes with its versatile array of twenty hydraulic rams.
6. Mechanics. The reciprocating arm on which the tool is mounted in a shaping or slotting machine.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > [noun] > other parts
ram1864
tee slot1888
1864 D. K. Clark Exhibited Machinery of 1862 iii. §1. ii. 133 Machines..for shaping levers, cranks, connecting rods... The ram is moved by means of a peculiar crank-motion, with a quick return.
1935 Buck & Hickman Ltd. Gen. Catal. Tools & Supplies 126 Hand shaping machine... There are nine different working positions of handle, the ram having three holes and the handle three holes.
1964 S. Crawford Basic Engin. Processes viii. 216 Most shaping machines are of the crank type... The ram is located in the top slideway of the body and is reciprocated by the crank mechanism.
1977 Buck & Hickman Catal. 1977–1979 High speed shaping machine... The ram, carriage and table are all mounted in dovetail guides.
1984 E. P. DeGarmo et al. Materials & Processes in Manuf. (ed. 6) xv. 393 The punch is attached to the movable ram, moving in and out of the die with each stroke of the press.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
(a) (In sense 1.)
ram horn n. (frequently attributive).
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > bone or horn > [adjective] > made of horn > specific
ram horn1568
ram's horn1589
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > uncastrated or ram > parts of
ram's hornOE
ram horn1568
1568 Wooing of Jok & Jynny (Bannatyne MS.) 65 Ane trene truncheour, ane ramehorne spone.
1790 J. Bell Bell's New Pantheon I. 56/1 Jupiter Ammon was usually represented under the figure of a ram, though on some medals he appears of a human shape, having only two ram-horns growing out beneath his ears.
1939 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 26 Jan. 3/6 (headline) Bloody ram horns held clue to death of Wyoming woman.
2007 Daily Post (Liverpool) (Nexis) 25 Jan. 19 He carves beautiful handles for his sticks—often featuring animal characters—from aged ram horns.
ram lamb n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > lamb > male
wether lamb?a1500
ram lamb1570
tup-hog1591
pur-lamba1722
tup-lamba1722
pur1787
1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 15v Geld bulcalfe & ram lambe, as sone as they fall.
1799 J. Banister Synopsis Husb. iv. xv. 387 The proper time for gelding the ram lambs is at a fortnight old.
2007 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 28 Feb. 9 Leaving at least some of their ram lambs uncastrated could be a useful performance improvement strategy.
ram trade n.
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1839 R. L. Venables tr. M. de Sabouroff Let. in Domest. Scenes Russia 222 The ram trade is at present a very flourishing business.
2006 Irish Independent (Nexis) 19 Sept. Breeding sheep met a strong trade in the marts this week, with the ram trade picking up after a slow start to the season.
(b) Nautical (in senses 3b and 3c).
ram-bow n.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ram
ram1858
ram-bow1865
ram stem1867
1865 N.Y. Times 23 July 1/2 Height of casemate, 7 feet 9inches, length of ram bow, 50 feet.
1927 Geogr. Jrnl. 69 219 The Romans had what would now be called a ram-bow, with the beak on the water-line.
1998 J. Greene & A. Massignani Ironclads at War 118 It was the French Magenta class, begun in 1859, that was the first ironclad designed with a ram bow.
ram cruiser n.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > vessel fitted with ram
ram1858
ram steamer1862
ram vessel1862
ram cruiser1881
1881 Times 30 Apr. 7/4 The Chinese authorities designate these two vessels as ram cruisers.
1992 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 56 599 The navy built no new ram cruisers, and added only one destroyer and two torpedo boats during the remaining six years of Sterneck's tenure.
ram fleet n.
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1862 Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gaz. 9 June The war department received official dispatches from Col. Elliot, commander of the ram fleet, dated off Memphis, 6th, giving an account of the operations of rams.
1937 L. D. Baldwin Pittsburgh xxiii. 317 The Mississippi ram fleet was largely Pittsburgh built.
1991 Commerc. Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 21 Apr. j12 Unwilling to watch the battle from the rear, Ellet on his flagship, the Queen of the West, ordered the ram fleet to charge through the Federal ironclad line.
ram steamer n.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > vessel fitted with ram
ram1858
ram steamer1862
ram vessel1862
ram cruiser1881
1862 T. O. Selfridge Let. 2 Jan. in Official Rec. Union & Confederate Navies War of Rebellion (U.S. Naval War Rec. Office) (1903) 1st Ser. XVII. 30 The ram steamer laid all day, till nearly night, in the North Pass, and then joined the other at Pilot Town.
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous 128 The ram-steamer Arctic that breaks the ice.
1990 R. A. Gould Recovering the Past vii. 211 In the months that followed, numerous ram steamers were built and deployed on the western rivers, and further ramming episodes occurred.
ram stem n. now historical
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > ram
ram1858
ram-bow1865
ram stem1867
1867 Times 14 Feb. 10/4 The much discussed U-form of bow..adds largely to the displacement, without in any degree impairing the fineness of the bow-lines when associated with a ‘ram’ stem.
1891 N.Y. Times 16 Sept. 8/4 Her hull is built of Siemens-Martin steel, and the vessel has a ram stem.
1976 Mil. Affairs 40 177/1 Victoria, Vanguard, and Grosser Kurfurst undoubtedly would have survived their collisions in calm waters had not the ram stems of their consorts opened a fatal gash below the waterline.
ram vessel n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > war vessel > [noun] > vessel fitted with ram
ram1858
ram steamer1862
ram vessel1862
ram cruiser1881
1862 L. M. Goldsborough Let. 9 May in War of Rebellion (U.S. War Dept.) (1884) 1st Ser. XI. iii. 155 The Merrimac did not engage the Monitor, nor did she place herself where could have been assailed by our ram vessels to any advantage.
1976 Mil. Affairs 40 176/1 Sartorius failed to explain how a ram vessel of such limited tonnage could safely navigate the tumultuous waters of the North Sea and the English Channel.
b. Objective and parasynthetic.† ram-supporter n. Obsolete† ram-tender n. Obsolete
ram-breeding n.
ΚΠ
1812 H. E. Strickland Gen. View Agric. East-Riding Yorks. xiii. 237 (heading) Ram-breeding.
1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 393/2 Pure Leicesters..are now confined to a few ram-breeding flocks.
2006 Dominion Post (Wellington, N.Z.) (Nexis) 16 Nov. 11 The 1580 ewe flock is now run as a ram-breeding operation, and 400 hogget and two-tooth rams are sold each year.
ram-faced adj.
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1613 P. Simson Short Compend Hist. First Ten Persecutions I. i. i. sig. A7 The ram-faced image of Ivpiter Ammonivs in Cyrenia.
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. xxxii. 247 A goatish ram-fac'd rascal!
1921 R. Graves Pier-glass 49 Ram-faced lecher, the blood on his own beast head!
2005 El Paso (Texas) Times (Nexis) 17 June t13 In April, the quintet celebrated the launch of its first video, ‘Ram-Faced Boy’.
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1863 C. Boutell Heraldry Hist. & Pop. (ed. 2) xxx. 401 In addition to the ram-supporters, rams' heads are several times sculptured.
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a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 777 An old Sheepe-whistiing [sic] Rogue, a Ram-tender . View more context for this quotation
C2. † ram-block n. (also ram's block) Nautical Obsolete = dead-eye n. 1.† ram-ciche n. (also ram's ciche) [ < ram n.1 + chich n.] Obsolete a chickpea (the seed of Cicer arietinum); = ram's head n. 1a.† ram-engine n. Obsolete a battering ram.† ram-fish n. [translating classical Latin ariēs, some kind of sea monster (Pliny), male sheep, ram (see Aries n.)] Obsolete a kind of sea monster.† ram-house n. Obsolete a structure that protects those operating a battering ram.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > rigging > [noun] > fixed rigging > rigging supporting mast laterally > block with holes for extending stays or shrouds
dead man's eye1466
ram-block1611
dead-eye1748
heart1769
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Cap de mouton, (in a ship is) a certaine flat peece of wood bored full of holes..; we call it, the Rammes~blocke.
1719 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (rev. ed.) Dict. at Block A Ram's Block in a Ship, Cap de Mouton.
1797 C. B. Schade New Pocket Dict. Eng. & German Lang. II. 301 Rammelblock, a ram-block.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > pulses or plants producing pulses > [noun] > chick-pea or lentil
lentila1325
chicha1382
Cicer1382
till1398
chit1541
chickpea1542
ram-ciche1597
ram's head ciche1601
chickny pea1693
gram1702
garbanzo1712
fasels-
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > pulse > [noun] > chick-pea or lentil
lentila1325
chicha1382
Cicer1382
lent1382
till1398
chickpea1542
chit1559
ram-ciche1597
fen lentil1601
ram's head ciche1601
lentil-pulse1660
chickny pea1693
gram1702
garbanzo1712
chana1838
lint1888
chana dal1895
fasels-
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. ccccxciii. 1047 It is called..in Latin, Cicer arietinum, or Rams Ciches.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 143 The blacke ciches..called Ram-ciches.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. v. 91 Cich-Pease, or Rams Ciches, or Cicers, have winged leaves, six and eight on a side, some smooth, others dented, the Flowers, are a pale yellowish colour.
1745 J. Parsons Microsc. Theatre Seeds 203 They were also called Cicer Arietinum, Ram's Chiches, from their having some Resemblance to a Ram's Head.
ram-coupler n. a form of coupler used to link closely set organ manuals so that they can be played in a single motion.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > coupler
pedal-coupler1834
coupler1840
copula1852
pedal-copula1852
polychord1858
octave coupler1868
sforzando coupler1876
tumbler-coupler1876
ram-coupler1881
coupling-
1881 W. E. Dickson Pract. Organ-building xii. 156 The ram-coupler can be used between manuals arranged too closely to admit of tumblers.
1905 O. C. Faust Treat. Constr. Organ (1949) 66 (heading) Ram coupler.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > battering-ram
rameOE
wether14..
bowstowrec1425
rammera1460
montonc1515
battle-ram1535
horse1601
battering-ram1611
ram-engine1632
battering-engine1774
battering-machine1774
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 150 Don Peplasos..caused a Ram-engine [Fr. vn Ariete] to be landed, which, together with its testude, they setled on its wheels.
ΚΠ
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 262 Of the Ram-fish. This fish is a very strong theef at sea, and makes foule work where he comes.
1720 W. R. Chetwood Voy. Capt. R. Falconer i. 70 When he was a Prisoner in Mexico, he had seen one there, and they call'd it the Ram Fish.
ram-getter n. a particularly strong ram, kept for breeding purposes.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > uncastrated or ram > kept for breeding purposes
rameOE
breed-rama1661
ram-getter1790
wether-getter1790
teaser1823
stallion1842
1790 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Midland Counties I. 429 Getting rams, to be let out again, to inferior tupmen, as ramgetters.
1837 W. Youatt Sheep 317 Strength of frame..was the distinction between the ‘ram-getter’ and the ‘wedder-getter’.
1908 T. McRow in Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 69 157 The second prize went to Mr. J T Hobbs for a grand, big sheep which should be a ram getter.
ramgoat n. now chiefly Caribbean (a) an adult male goat; †(b) (also ramgoat bush) any of several, chiefly strong-smelling, Caribbean and tropical American plants; esp. Zanthoxylum tragodes (family Rutaceae) and Turnera ulmifolia (family Turneraceae) (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > subfamily Caprinae (goat) > [noun] > male
buckc1000
goat buckOE
ramgoat1566
buck-goatc1615
puckaun1735
willy-goat1809
billy1849
billy-goat1860
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > American or West Indian
ramgoat bush1566
burton-wood1697
cowage cherry1725
Jack-in-the-busha1726
screw tree1739
lady of the night1752
goatweed1756
solandra1797
silk-tassel1833
garrya1835
matico1839
choisya1840
Romneya1845
jointer1847
creosote-bush1851
creosote-plant1854
bridal wreath1856
ocotillo1856
adelaster1863
sage rose1864
white horse1864
tree poppy1866
Tacsonia1869
rain tree1877
piquillin bush1884
tassel-bush1891
bush poppy1899
Mexican orange1923
shrimp plant1941
1566 W. Adlington tr. Apuleius .XI. Bks. Golden Asse xxvi. f. 70v A great nomber of beastes, amongest whiche there was a bigge Ram goate, fatte, olde, and hearie.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 8 In Angola..some adore the Deuill in forme of a bloudie Dragon..Others a Ram-goat.
1668 F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue II. i. lxviii. 82 They have many Idols amongst them which they hold in great esteem, as a Ram-goat, a Bat, an Owl, a Snake, or Dog, to whom they ceremoniously bow or kneel.
1801 W. Somerville Jrnl. 20 Nov. in Narr. Journeys Eastern Cape Frontier (1979) iv. 108 Horns like the Ram Goat, tail differs, being longer.
1832 M. Scott in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 32 474 They..ran butt at each other like ram-goats.
1847 Trinidad Spectator 31 Mar. 2 Da butt like a ram goat.
1882 in Smithsonian Misc. Coll. 23 No. 13. 38 Ramgoat-bush... The whole plant has a strong smell.
1958 J. Carew Black Midas i. 14 He was a lean white man with a ram-goat beard.
1996 E. Lovelace Salt iv. 44 The Shango palais where they kill unspotted ramgoats and wring the neck of white and red cockerels.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > movable shed
sow1297
mantel1357
snail1408
vinet1408
whelk1408
circlec1440
barbed-cat1489
mantle1489
mantlet1524
vine1565
tortoise1569
sow-guard1582
penthouse1600
penticle1600
target-roof1601
vinea1601
fence-roof1609
testudo1609
cat-house1614
vineyard1650
tortoiseshell1726
manta1829
cat1833
ram-house1850
tortoise-roof1855
bear1865
1850 P. H. Gosse Sacred Streams iii. 134 The ram-house, and part of the tower, are covered with hurdles or hides.
ram-letting n. now historical the leasing-out of rams for breeding purposes.
ΚΠ
1809 W. Pitt Gen. View Agric. Leics. iv. 235 The Society of Ram-breeders..are at liberty to make what they can by ram-letting.
1861 Times 17 Sept. The ram lettings in progress..show..a great development of enterprise on the part of sheep breeders.
1938 Q. Rev. Biol. 13 321/2 It was possible for him to establish a trade in ram-letting that netted him a profit of over 1200 guineas in one year from one ram.
2001 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 21 July 30 The members [of the Dishley Society] had to abide by a number of rules, several of which were in connection with ram letting.
ram mutton n. (also ram's mutton) the meat of a ram.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > mutton > [noun] > types of mutton
ram mutton1599
Welsh muttona1627
wether-mutton1707
turnip-muttona1722
marsh mutton1724
traik1802
Southdown1818
pré salé1839
Southdowner1841
tup-mutton1844
1599 R. Hakluyt tr. W. de Rubruquis in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. xxiv. 112 In the euening they bestowed upon us, as namely, a shoulder and breast of rams mutton.
1632 P. Massinger Maid of Honour iii. i. sig. F2v A huge shoulder Of glorious fat Ramme Mutton.
1770 G. Colman Man & Wife 16 They gave me nothing but cow beef, ram mutton, red veal, stale eggs, and white bacon.
1865 Mrs. Goodfellow's Cookery as it should Be 38 The ram mutton may be known by the redness of the flesh, and the sponginess of the fat.
1929 G. B. Harrison in N. Breton Melancholike Humours 58 Pork (except it be young and a little corned with salt) is to be avoided; also beef, ram-mutton, goat, boar's flesh, and venison.
1998 Nelson Mail (N.Z.) (Nexis) 10 Feb. 9 Arapawa rams are best to eat when marinated. You soak the ram mutton in a can of beer the night before you cook.
ram reel n. Scottish a reel danced by men only.
ΚΠ
1813 D. Anderson Poems, Eng. & Scotch 122 The chairs they coup, they hurl an' loup, A ram-reel now they're wantin.
1878 Appletons' Jrnl. Oct. 318/2 They have commenced a ‘ram’-reel—a hideous comminglement of everything that is violent in exercise—and the few remaining ladies have fled in terror.
1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xvii. 157 'Ere wis a curn young flipes dancin awa at a kin' o' a Ram Reel, in a nyookie a' be them leens.
ram-riding n. English regional (Cornwall) (now historical) a form of popular punishment, esp. one showing disapproval for marital infidelity.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > public or popular punishments > [noun] > carrying on a log or pole
ram-riding1880
1880 T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words E. Cornwall in Gloss. Cornwall 98 Riding, ram-riding, a rude method, once common in our villages, but now suppressed, of marking disapproval of, or holding up to infamy, any breach of connubial fidelity. A cart, in which were seated burlesque representatives of the erring pair, was drawn through the village, attended by a procession of men and boys, blowing horns.
1891 ‘Q’ Noughts & Crosses 100 They had seized the woman..and were hauling her along in a Ram Riding... The men..had to drag her, her feet trailing, and the horns and kettles dinning in her wake.
1958 Folklore 69 36 ‘Ram riding’ was a way by which public disapproval of ‘goings-on’ was expressed.
ram-sheep n. (a) = sense 1a (now chiefly U.S. and Caribbean); †(b) any sheep, regardless of gender (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep)
sheepc825
sowthc1175
balle1440
wool-bearer1483
flocklinga1652
ram-sheep1672
fleece1783
jumbuck1824
ovine1890
mae1899
woolly1910
1672 J. Lacy Dumb Lady 35 There's no shame in it, Sir; for 'twas a Ram-sheep, Sir, and he assaulted me, and in my own defence, I kill'd him honourably and fairly.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 562/1 Linnæus enumerates three species..1. The ovis aries, or ram-sheep.
1885 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 18 Feb. Wanted to purchase. A few ewes and a good Ram Sheep.
1925 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 38 371 He bridled his old ram sheep and put a saddle on hit and throwed one leg over hit.
2006 Register-Guard (Eugene, Oregon) (Nexis) 10 Aug. d1 Siegert was arrested for driving while intoxicated after speeding with a 200-pound ram sheep in the back of his pickup.
Derivatives
ram-like adj.
ΚΠ
1624 J. Vicars tr. G. Goodwin Babels Balm 89 Romes Ram-like Actors came vpon the Stage: But God oppos'd their hatefull Actiue-Rage.
1662 J. Donne, Jr. Satyr 117 The Third, Ram-like, hath a large pair of horns, And sees them, yet to bear them never scorns.
1851 C. L. Smith tr. T. Tasso Jerusalem Delivered xi. xxxvii The ram..Whose ram-like head is armed with iron plates.
1910 Biblical World 36 30 A small statuette from Gezer..is remarkable on account of the ram-like horns that protrude from the head.
1977 M. Helprin Refiner's Fire iv. vii. 114 Marshall rebelled dragging in tow a full catalogue of ramlike adolescent insanities.
2006 News & Rec. (Greensboro, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 17 Oct. a1 A black bull weighing up to 800 pounds—with curled ram like horns and a mean temper—escaped Sunday night from the Eden Fairgrounds.
ram-type adj. reminiscent or characteristic of a ram, in various senses.In quot. 1956 designating a ram schooner; cf. sense 3c.
ΚΠ
1931 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. 27 Sept. 4/4 With the drill bit at full depth the injection of cement grout was commenced, using Francois ram type grout pumps for the purpose.
1956 Sun (Baltimore) 19 Apr. 38/8 Mr. Katz said he would prove the captain of the ill-fated ‘ram type’ schooner ran for shelter when hurricane winds were predicted.
1991 Public Wks. Oct. 30/3 Unique ram-type system processes wood products, root balls, compost, landfill top dress.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† ramn.2
Obsolete.
Metal ore of a brittle, crumbly nature. With distinguishing word indicating the type of metal. Cf. slick n.2 black ram n. bog iron.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > ore > [noun]
oreOE
metala1387
minea1425
mineralc1500
vein1601
spelter1661
ram1683
virgin ore1758
rock1830
manganomelane1934
the world > the earth > minerals > ore > [noun] > metal ore > iron ore > bog
bog-mine1590
bog-mine-ore1764
bog ore1772
bog iron ore1789
swampy iron ore1796
morassy iron ore1801
morass ore1805
black ram1808
limonite1823
swamp-ore1839
1683 J. Pettus tr. L. Ercker ii. iii. 114 in Fleta Minor i The rich Gold Ram or Slick (out of which Gold is quickened).
1776 J. Seiferth tr. C. E. Gellert Metallurgic Chym. viii. 37 For after the sand and earth is washed from this gold, some small brown or black iron grains are usually found among it, which are called iron ram [Ger. Eisenram], and are attracted by the magnet.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon i. 76 Large quantities of black ram (i.e. bog iron) are found dispersed through all the moors and low-grounds.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online September 2020).
ramn.3
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/ Nautical.† 1. The overall length of a boat. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel with reference to qualities or attributes > [noun] > attributes of vessel > length overall
ram1723
1723 London Gaz. No. 6224/5 A Vessel 27 Foot and half upon the Keel, 33 Foot Ram.
1889 Whitby Gaz. 2 Aug. 4/6 The charge for any boat exceeding 17 feet in the ram, that is to say anything after the style of a coble.
2. The central plank of a coble, often used as a measure of the length of the boat (see sense 1). More fully ram-board, ram-plank.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > bottom or part under water > [noun] > keel and kelson > keel > types of
sliding keel1797
centreboard1828
bilge-keel1850
ram1851
rocker1859
sidebar keel1869
bar-keel1874
plate-keel1874
bilge-piece1880
fin1885
bulb-keel1893
fin-keel1893
ballast fin1894
bulb-fin1894
plate1895
drop-keel1896
1851 Rep. Comm. Life-boat Models 30/1 Length extreme. 27ft.; length of keel or ram-board, 20ft.
1933 Yachting Monthly Dec. 108/1 The centre plank [of a coble] is called the ‘ram’.
1970 E. J. March Inshore Craft Great Brit. I. iv. 137 The true coble is built up on a ‘ram plank’ not a keel.
1973 W. Elmer Terminol. Fishing iv. 113 The ram denotes the broad central bottom plank in the cobles, which have no keel.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ramn.4
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/ 1. † b. ram and damn (more fully ram and damn gun) (humorous) a muzzle-loading gun. Also ram and dam. Obsolete.
a. The action or process of ramming something; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > [noun] > consolidating by beating
ramming1440
punning1838
ram1864
1864 F. M. Ramsey Let. 23 Jan. in Official Rec. Union & Confederate Navies War of Rebellion (U.S. Naval War Rec.) (1912) 1st ser. XXV. 713 The Bragg..can get a good ram at anything coming out of Red River without having to turn.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 7 May 2/1 The prescribed course of alternate cram and ram proved entirely successful.
2006 Sacramento (Calif.) Bee (Nexis) 15 Sept. tk34 The former are required to execute a ram—take a good run at a perpendicular enemy ship and watch it snap in half.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > by type of loading
screw-barrel1691
muzzle-loading1856
breech-loading1858
ram and dam1866
1866 Cornhill Mag. Sept. 342 Old sportsmen..who still use and prefer the old ‘ram and d—n’ which they wielded so effectively in their youth.
1899 Pall Mall Mag. Jan. 116 A pot-hunter..considering the condition of his ancient ram-and-dam gun.
2. The compressive effect experienced by air which is constrained to enter a moving aperture or restricted space, spec. the intake of a jet engine. Cf. ramjet n. Frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > fluid dynamics > [noun] > aerodynamics > specific compressive effect
ram1944
1944 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 48 445 Air is led from the intake A, under full ram due to the forward speed of the aircraft, to the compressor B.
1945 P. H. Wilkinson Aircraft Engines of World 343 Ram effect in flight compresses air to more than atmospheric pressure.
1953 J. Liston Power Plants for Aircraft ii. 65 Compression is obtained by utilizing the forward motion of the aircraft to produce a dynamic pressure or ‘ram’ in the diverging inlet section.
1969 W. Thomson Thrust for Flight 43 At the high forward speeds made possible by jet propulsion the pressure in the turbine compressor intake can be raised by ram effects.
1969 W. Thomson Thrust for Flight 53 Increase of pressure by ram is not a free gift.
1996 Amer. Scientist July 347/1 It exerts ‘ram’ pressure—the mechanical force that blows umbrellas out of your hand—on the upstream side of the dense sheet.
Compounds
ram air n. Engineering and Aeronautics air which is constrained to enter a moving aperture; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > air > [noun] > air-pressure > air constrained to enter moving aperture
ram air1953
1953 B. H. Jennings & W. L. Rogers Gas Turbine Anal. & Pract. i. 9 Ram air slightly compressed by the forward progress of the airplane enters the impeller.
1962 Engineering 31 Aug. 258/2 If..all the engines were out, two ram-air turbines provide electric and hydraulic power for essential flying control.
1993 Super Bike Jan. 41/1 Britten completely redesigned the cylinder heads,..permitting them to share a common airbox, which in turn is force-fed with cold air via a ram air system.
ram-wing n. Aeronautics a wing-like structure on an air-cushion vehicle which generates lift by means of a ram effect, compressing the air between itself and the surface over which it moves.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > specific equipment on hovercraft
landing pad1958
sidewall1960
ram-wing1962
skirt1962
puff port1967
1962 Air-Cushion Vehicles Oct. 70/2 Of particular interest..is a Kawasaki ram-wing craft now being built.
1968 G. H. Elsley & A. J. Devereux Hovercraft Design & Constr. i. 13 The ram wing is another type of aerodynamic craft... This is essentially a low-aspect-ratio wing with its trailing edge virtually touching the surface.
1993 Pop. Mech. Mar. 10/1 And a Hartford, Connecticut, inventor molded a ramwing catamaran out of polystyrene foam.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ramn.5
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/, Australian English /ræm/ Criminals' slang (originally and chiefly Australian). Now rare.
An accomplice, esp. of a swindler or con man. Cf. ampster n.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a criminal or law-breaker > one who assists
fellowa1382
accessory1414
accessary1451
confederate1495
confederator1536
snapperc1555
complice1581
accomplice?1589
assistor1601
socius criminis1602
fedariea1616
complier1619
particeps criminisa1634
correspondent1639
complicate1662
capper1753
palc1770
partner in crime1831
sidekick1893
side-kicker1894
ram1941
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 59 Ram, a trickster's confederate.
1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 418/2 Ram, an accomplice of a crook. More common in Austral. than in U.S.
1966 S. J. Baker Austral. Lang. (ed. 2) xi. 246 The ram would say, ‘Give the old boy a fair go; he's nearly too old to spin them!’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
RAMn.6
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/ Computing.
= random-access memory n. at random n., adv., and adj. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > hardware > [noun] > primary storage or main memory > random access
random access1950
random-access memory1953
RAM1957
dynamic RAM1975
DRAM1981
1957 R. K. Richards Digital Computer Components & Circuits vii. 347 ‘Random access storage’ (or RAM, for ‘random access memory’).
1977 Design Engin. July 15/2 The MM5799..contains 1,536 8-bit instructions in its ROM, and its RAM can store 96 BCD digits of 4 bits each.
1979 National Westm. Bank Q. Rev. May 56 The present competition to produce 256K Ram..and the super-fast 32-bit microprocessors.
1980 Economist 23 Feb. 84/1 A type of chip called a dynamic ram (ram standing for random access memory).
1987 T. Forester High-tech Society (1989) iii. 66 They will completely control the market for 256K RAMs (which is expected to be worth $14 billion) by 1990.
1998 HomePC Feb. 45/1 The laptop packs a punch: It boasts..64 MB of RAM.
2001 What Digital Camera Aug. 85/4 Buffer RAM is used to store images whilst they are recorded onto the (much slower) removable media card.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ramv.1
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/ 1.
a. intransitive. To beat down earth with a heavy implement, so as to make it compact and firm. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (intransitive)] > consolidate by beating
ramc1330
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 533 (MED) Werkemen..rammed and doluen snel, And gun þat castel fair and wel.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 422 Ramnyn [?a1475 Winch. Rammyn] wythe an instrument, trudo, tero, pilo.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 160 An instrument..that in laying a sure foundation, doth as well ramme downe as raise up.
1796 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening iii. 49 In laying gravel..a few yards only should be laid at a time, before ramming or treading.
1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 239 Throw in six more inches of clay, and ram well over.
1944 D. E. Warland Teach yourself Constructional Details xiii. 159 When the length of drain has been completed and the pipes jointed the trench should be filled in with the excavated material. This process is termed ‘fill-in and ram’.
b. transitive. With earth, ground, etc., as object. Also with down and in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (transitive)] > other specific processes
rama1450
uncallow1729
riprap1837
kid1877
bulldoze1931
bulldozer1945
blast1951
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (transitive)] > beat flat or solid
rama1450
poss1611
pun1838
pound1850
tamp1879
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > press or force down > push down firmly
rama1450
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 96v (MED) In þe makynge of þese walles, fille vp þat voyde space þat is bytwene hem with þe erthe of þe outcastyng of þi diches and loke hit be wel beten & rammed [L. densatur] wiþ beteles & tredyng of manis feet.
1597 S. Finche Let. 18 Feb. in A. C. Ducarel Some Acct. Town Croydon (1783) App. 153 Small stone, and brickbats..rammed stronglye, course upon course.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 26 The Brick-layers to lay no foundation except the ground be first Ram'd.
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 128 If the Ground be hollow or weaker in any place, he strengthens it, sometimes by well ramming it down.
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 17 Which Stones being well rammed.
1758 J. Milles in Philos. Trans. 1757 (Royal Soc.) 50 26 They are obliged to pave and ramm the bed of the river.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 338 The space between being filled with clay or chalk closely rammed.
1850 Harper's Mag. Oct. 593/1 She..fills in the hole, every now and then turning round and going backward into the hole to stamp down the earth with her feet, and to ram it down with her body as a rammer.
1873 J. G. Holland Arthur Bonnicastle xiii. 214 Mr. Mullins..rammed down his shirt bosom again.
1927 Times 8 Nov. p. viii/6 On this was laid a foundation of clay and flints rammed tight down, and next a layer of mortared rubble.
1946 B. James in W. Murdoch & H. Drake-Brockman Austral. Short Stories (1951) 250 The walls had to be very thick, and that meant more pisé to be mixed, and lifted and rammed.
1988 D. Rees GCSE CDT—Design & Realisation xvi. 162 The sand is lightly rammed.
2003 Birmingham (Alabama) News (Nexis) 20 Nov. Multiple machines ramming the earth might disrupt and damage that equipment.
c. transitive. To fix or make (a post, a plant, etc.) firm by ramming the surrounding soil. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > make fast [verb (transitive)] > by ramming surrounding soil
ram1565
1565 A. Golding tr. Caesar Martiall Exploytes in Gallia vii. f. 190v Greate postes of streight timber..are let into the grounde..and rammed surely with a great deale of earth.
1704 Dict. Rusticum at Alum The Mine this calcined, is put into Pits of Water, supported with Frames of Wood, and rammed on all sides with Clay.
1796 W. H. Marshall Planting I. 37 Such plants as have lost their upright posture, or are loose at the roots, should be righted and rammed.
1882 Garden 11 Mar. 169/2 The plants may be well rammed and top-dressed with stiff loam.
1891 Truth (Sydney) 26 Apr. 7/3 Call that a fence! Look! Crooked as a ram's horn. Posts not rammed; strainers not big enough.
1910 Times 14 Sept. 4/2 These posts had been rammed with chalk into a clean-cut trench.
2. transitive. To stop, stuff, or block up, with earth, debris, etc. Also with with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > close or shut [verb (transitive)] > close an aperture or orifice > by thrusting something in
rama1425
stuff1597
a1425 ( Forme of Cury 35 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 105 [Add. 5016 Take chikens and boile hem in gode broth, and] ramme [hem vp.]
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. sig. B.vijv These kepers had rammed vp their outer dores.
1579 T. Churchyard Gen. Rehearsall Warres sig. I.iij The gate was rammed vp, and we could not passe into the Castle but by that waie.
1620 F. Quarles Feast for Wormes (1638) 3 Ramme up thine eares,..Be deafe to them.
1645 J. Corbet Hist. Relation Mil. Govt. Gloucester 44 The East and South ports were dammed up, and rammed with a Thicknesse of Earth Cannon proofe.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 518 A back stair..ramb'd up with earth to prevent any passage.
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present iv. iii. 354 Ædiles; who would..have rigorously seen rammed up into total abolition many a foul cellar.
1884 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 13 190 We rammed up the hole with wood and stones and earth, and went away.
1962 J. R. Powell Navy in Eng. Civil War ii. 22 The Hessle and Myton Gates were also rammed up with earth.
1996 T. F. Waters Fund. for Engineers ii. 15 Fill and ram up with sand.
3.
a. transitive. To force or drive down (also in, etc.) with heavy blows; to drive (posts, etc.) into the soil in this way.to ram down one's throat: see throat n. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > by impact or force > by striking or beating
smitec1330
swapa1375
inbeatc1420
possa1425
rushc1440
strike1450
ram1519
pash1530
thwack1566
whip1567
thump1596
lash1597
knocka1616
switcha1625
to knock down1653
to knock in1669
stave1837
whip1868
slog1884
to beat down-
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > insertion or putting in > insert or put in [verb (transitive)] > forcibly
thrustc1175
quevena1400
stopc1480
ingyre1513
ram1519
dig1553
intrude1563
purr1574
spring1597
grub1607
inject1611
ingest1617
sock1843
to dig in1885
1519 W. Horman Vulgaria xxix. f. 240 A quauery..foundacion, must be holpe with great pylys of alder, rammed downe.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 678/2 I ramme, as workmen ramme in pyles... They have rammed syxe pyles this mornynge.
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 85 Euen, as it were, pyles of wood rammed into the earth.
1708 J. C. Compl. Collier 7 in T. Nourse Mistery of Husbandry Discover'd (ed. 3) Stiff Clay..is forc'd and ram'd in next the Sand.
1792 C. Powys Passages from Diaries Mrs. Powys (1899) 267 They were then beginning a new dock,..and we saw some of the foundation-stones ramm'd down.
1840 Evid. Hull Docks Com. 37 We ram some concrete between the piles.
1881 C. Whitehead Hops 36 Men pitch holes..and ram the poles down into them.
1931 Amer. Mercury Jan. 50/1 We both carried ‘mud sticks’ to be rammed down and held by the upper ends while we raked off the heavy accumulations.
1995 DIY Mag. 65 Some of the foundation hardcore may also have to be removed, and any soft ground dug out till you reach a firmer base. Extra hardcore is then rammed well down into the hole and the concrete replaced.
b. transitive. To confine or pen (a person or thing) up closely; to pack.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclosing or confining > enclose or confine [verb (transitive)]
pena1200
bebar?c1225
loukc1275
beshuta1300
parc1300
to shut in1398
to close inc1400
parrockc1400
pinc1400
steekc1400
lock?a1425
includec1425
key?a1439
spare?c1450
enferme1481
terminea1500
bebay1511
imprisona1533
besetc1534
hema1552
ram1567
warda1586
closet1589
pound1589
seclude1598
confine1600
i-pend1600
uptie1600
pinfold1605
boundify1606
incoop1608
to round in1609
ring1613
to buckle ina1616
embounda1616
swathe1624
hain1636
coopa1660
to sheathe up1661
stivea1722
cloister1723
span1844
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. v. f. 117 The chamber where our Cornelio was rammed up in the tewell of a chymney.
a1777 S. Foote Devil upon Two Sticks (1778) i. 13 Consider, ramm'd up in this narrow compass [sc. a bottle], I can't be much at my ease.
1970 Times Standard (Eureka, Calif.) 20 July 12/2 A special silica sand is packed (rammed up) in wooden frames, or flasks as the pros call them.
c. transitive. To cram, stuff, or thrust (a person or thing) into something (literal and figurative). Chiefly with in, into.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > placing or fact of being placed in (a) position > insertion or putting in > insert or put in [verb (transitive)] > forcibly > cram or stuff in
crama1400
wedge1513
enfarce1564
pester1570
farce1579
stuff1579
ram1582
impact1601
thrum1603
to cramp in1605
crowd1609
impack1611
screw1635
infarciate1657
stodge1674
choke1747
bodkin1793
jam1793
bodkinize1833
pump1899
shoehorn1927
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 22 In this od hudge ambry they ramd a number of hardye Tough knights.
1640 E. Dering Coll. Speeches on Relig. 13 They have rammed a prodigious ungodly oath into them.
1683 J. Dryden & N. Lee Duke of Guise v. i. 66 By Heaven I'le ramm thee in some knotted Oak.
1740 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (rev. ed.) App. p. xlvi The water crackers or divers are commonly ramm'd in..cases.
1788 E. Picken Poems & Epist. 111 An honest chiel..Juste ram'd it [sc. a letter] in my gowpen.
1820 Ld. Byron Let. 20 May (1977) VII. 102 I might have rammed it into a review and vexed him.
1840 Lady C. M. C. Bury Hist. Flirt xxvi I always ram my clothes into a box.
1869 C. Gibbon Robin Gray xxxvi In a hurry to ram his head into the noose.
1911 J. Conrad Under Western Eyes i. iii. 69 He shut up all the books and rammed all his papers into his pocket.
1989 Atlantic Sept. 82/1 Marty rammed the letter behind the bed.
2000 R. Bingham Lightning on Sun 166 Departure was being delayed in order to maximize the number of human beings who could possibly be rammed into the vehicle.
d. transitive. To force (a bullet, bolt, charge, etc.) into a firearm, usually by means of a ramrod. to ram home: see to ram home at Phrases.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > fire (a gun) [verb (transitive)] > load or prime (a gun) > ram
ram1598
to ram home1627
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 34 To ramme the same [bullet] with paper, tow or such like.
1637 J. Roberts Compl. Cannoniere 16 Make it more usefull and lasting to ram both wad & bullet close to the powder.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 72 I..loaded again with a double Charge.., which I took care to ram down as hard as ever I was able.
1702 J. H. Compl. Gentleman Soldier 174 The charge of the Mortar, as well in Powder, as in Wadding, be always rammed in with blows equally heavy.
1782 B. Thompson in Philos. Trans. 1781 (Royal Soc.) 71 269 The recoil of a musket is greater when its charge is rammed than when it is not.
1895 N.Y. Times 7 July iv. 25/5 [The bullets] are rammed down..with an oil patch.
1994 B. A. Staples Parallel Time xi. 230 Chick-chack was the sound of the bolt being turned and rammed into the breech.
e. transitive. To push or press firmly down.
ΚΠ
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge i. iv. sig. B4v Ramm't quicklie downe, that it may not rise vp.
1877 R. H. Roberts Harry Holbrooke of Holbrooke Hall ii. 27 He rams his old hat down on his head.
1907 J. Conrad Secret Agent i. 4 The men with collars turned up and soft hats rammed down.
1995 N. Buncoe Acid Casuals xxix. 224 Amjad rammed the pedal down to the Nissan's floor.
f. transitive. Politics and Business (originally U.S.). To force or push (legislation, a policy, etc.) through an approval process; to rush or press (a procedure or course of action) through forcefully, frequently against opposition.
ΚΠ
1854 Daily Free Democrat (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 23 Feb. I am opposed to ramming through these resolutions.
1902 Des Moines (Iowa) Leader 19 Mar. 3/4 He called attention to the fact that this bill was not to be rammed through the house, but that ample opportunity was to be allowed for debate and amendment.
1955 H. L. Enarson et al. in I. Bernstein Emergency Disputes & National Policy iii. 59 His ‘plan’ was to ram through a price increase, regardless of existing price standards, presumably with the backing of the President.
1990 J. Eberts & T. Ilott My Indecision is Final xlvii. 493 Projects..were ‘rammed’ through by the chief executive, despite the reservations of other directors.
4.
a. transitive. To force in or compress the contents of (something, esp. a gun) by ramming.
ΚΠ
1579 L. Digges & T. Digges Stratioticos 113 His Gunner..to wadde and ramme, to cleanse, scoure, and coole the Peeces.
1740 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (rev. ed.) App. p. xxxiv Having ramm'd a rocket.
1796 S. Pegge Anonymiana (1809) 280 It made a flash and a sharp crack, like that of a gun high charged and hard rammed.
1845 Times 18 Feb. 8/2 Whilst ramming one [sc. a rocket] of them with a mallet, the contents suddenly ignited.
1894 H. Caine Manxman iv. xvii. 265 He took out his pipe, and rammed it with his forefinger.
1962 E. P. Degarmo Materials & Processes in Manuf. (ed. 2) x. 228 After the mold is rammed, CO2 is introduced through vents in the metal pattern.
1990 H. Henschler tr. W. Fey Armor Battles of Waffen-SS (2003) i. 5 The Panzer rammed the gun and pushed its barrel down.
b. transitive. To cram or stuff firmly with something. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > fill > stuff or cram
cramc1000
pitchc1300
thrustc1380
purra1398
stopc1400
farcec1405
stuffc1440
line?1521
enfarce1531
threstc1540
pack1567
prag1567
prop1568
referse1580
thwack1582
ram1590
pang1637
farcinate1638
stivea1639
thrack1655
to craw outa1658
trig1660
steeve1669
stow1710
jam1719
squab1819
farcy1830
cram-jam1880
jam-pack1936
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vii. sig. F8 That diuelish yron Engin..With windy Nitre and quick Sulphur fraught, And ramd with bollet rownd.
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster v. i. sig. K2v His Poësie, 'tis so ramm'd with Life. View more context for this quotation
a1678 A. Marvell in Misc. Poems (1681) 114 Their Burgomaster of the Sea Ram'd with Gun-powder, flaming with Brand wine.
1702 C. Brockwell tr. S. von Pufendorf Compl. Hist. Sweden 463 His Majesty took out of the Magazine of Munick 140 pieces of Cannon, and Transported 'em to Augsberg, one of which was rammed with 30000 Ducats.
1721 A. Ramsay Epist. to R. H. B. iii If ram'd wi' red, they rant and rair, Like mirthfu' men.
1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 237/1 The intervening space being well rammed with saw-dust.
1868 J. Blenkarn Pract. Specif. Wks. 15 The socket of the pipe shall be neatly filled and rammed with clay.
a1898 H. Bessemer Autobiogr. (1905) x. 132 These holes were tightly rammed with damp meal powder, and on firing the gun..the powder became ignited.
1941 B. Miller Farewell Leicester Square x. 208 The ash-tray was rammed with dead cigarettes.
1994 H. Bloom Western Canon iii. xv. 352 There is no one in Goethe's plays or dramatic poems like Brand, Peer Gynt... Demoniac or trollish beings, they are intensely rammed with life.
5.
a. intransitive. To batter at with a ram; to drive violently at. Also with through. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > use of siege weapons > assault with engines [verb (transitive)] > batter with ram
ram?1579
?1579 Woorthie Enterprise I. Foxe in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) i. 153 So was it impossible, that the wals of Iericho should fall downe, being neither vndermined, nor yet rammed at with engines.
1868 United Services Mag. Mar. 404 The Italians had painted their ships grey, so Admiral Tegetthoff rammed at every thing he observed of that colour.
1946 Afr. Affairs 45 184 The son flung his spear and hit the buffalo, causing it to turn and catch sight of the wife on the ground, whereupon it rammed at her leg.
1950 Times 22 Feb. 6/6 Pickets..forced another [fire brigade] to ram through a road block to get to the fire.
b. transitive. To drive violently and forcefully against; to strike with great force; spec. (of a ship) to strike (another vessel) offensively, esp. (now historical) with its ram. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > operations or manoeuvres > perform operation or manoeuvre [verb (transitive)] > ram
stemc1500
to give (a ship) the stem1548
ram1664
beak1898
the world > movement > impact > impinge upon [verb (transitive)] > forcibly or violently
beatOE
to run against ——a1425
smitec1450
quash1548
dash1611
kick1667
lashc1694
daud?1719
besmite1829
buck1861
tund1885
ram1897
prang1942
1664 T. Allin Jrnl. 17 June (1939) i. 137 We..set sail..and rammed against a tide.
1858 Times 18 Sept. 6/5 What if any vaisseau bélier from the peaceful fold at Cherbourg..should even succeed in ramming in a few fathoms of the ship's side.
1864 N.Y. Picayune in Daily Tel. 30 Aug. The Tennessee was rammed by the Hartford.
1868 United Services Mag. Mar. 404 Finally, nothing better could be done than the heavy iron ships ramming at full speed.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 1071 In blood so treated it is easy to observe the filariæ ramming the sheath and hitting their way out.
1898 Tit-bits 26 Mar. 492/2 When the order to ram is given, everybody throws himself flat on the deck.
1921 W. Wood Captains of Civil War ix. 323 Three vessels rammed her in succession; and she was forced to surrender.
1951 R. Bradbury Silver Locusts (1960) 215 The boat rammed the wharf hard enough to throw them all forward.
1968 N. Mosley Impossible Object 48 He went back to his own car and started it and rammed the car in front.
1995 Campaign. Rep. Sept. A French naval ship rammed the Rainbow Warrior on the starboard side, causing extensive damage.
2006 PC Gamer Apr. 143/2 Use nitro to move as fast as you can and never let another car ram you.
c. intransitive. Originally U.S. To crash or bump into forcefully and esp. unwittingly.
ΚΠ
1895 Freeborn County (Minnesota) Standard 27 Nov. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled back into the den, ramming into a pile of unbound magazines and strewing the floor with them.
1903 Washington Post 19 Oct. 1/3 A heavy timber in the overhead work of the bridge..rammed into the end of the car, knocking out the entire front of it.
1961 Nugget Oct. 26/1 All Deegan had to do was slide, fall away, but instead, he rammed into the catcher.
1983 R. Narayan Tiger for Malgudi 19 She..knocked me off my feet by ramming into me.
2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 30 Dec. i. 3/4 Another bomb-filled vehicle rammed into one of the Strykers rumbling down the road.
6.
a. transitive. To dash, force, or drive (something) against or into something else. With prepositions, as against, into, on to, etc.; also with together.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > violently
shoveOE
swengea1225
slata1250
sleata1250
dashc1290
thringa1300
hurlc1305
lashc1330
to ding downc1380
rampenc1390
dinga1400
reelc1400
rash1485
flounce1582
squat1658
ram1718
whang1820
slug1862
slam1870
1718 A. Ramsay Christ's-kirk on Green iii. 31 Some ram'd their Nodles..On Posts that Day.
1816 M. Keating Trav. Eur. & Afr. I. 242 He rammed the victims of his malignant and drunken caprices..into his composition-walls: for he too was an architect.
1858 R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma xxiii Ramming his horse well at it, he gets through.
c1869 Ld. C. E. Paget Autobiogr. (1896) x. 334 The gallant Petz, who rammed the old two-decker..into an Italian ironclad.
1924 E. Hemingway In our Time 10 The bull rammed him wham against the wall.
1966 C. G. Cruickshank Elizabeth's Army (ed. 2) vii. 115 The rear end was screwed into a plug which was rammed against the powder charge in the musket.
1986 Harbour News (Chichester Harbour Conservancy) 17 A..large..dump barge..rammed its bow onto the North island.
1988 E. Young-Bruehl Anna Freud iv. 167 When a child rammed two little cars together..Melanie Klein would tell the child that this represented parental intercourse.
2002 S. C. Stoker Aberdeen High Jinks xlviii. 209 He had offered the knee with the undeniable intent of ramming it into my midsection.
b. transitive. Scottish. To punish (a person) by dashing him or her against a wall.
ΚΠ
1854 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters x. 219 The disputants..were prepared to assist in ramming each the other; and so rammed they both were.
1930 J. Wight in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. 337 He wis ta'en an' rammed, dam'd an' dirden on for lattin oot the pooder aboot the horsemen meeting.
c. transitive. To force (one's way) by ramming.
ΚΠ
1876 ‘Capt. Nares’ Official Rep. Recent Arctic Exped. 30 The enormous power exerted by the ship when able to ram her way between the pieces [of ice] even at ordinary speed.
1884 Fitchburg (Mass.) Daily Sentinel 17 July The ships were forced to ram their way through several hundred miles of ice ranging in thickness from three to six feet.
1914 Times (Weekly ed.) 10 Apr. 293/1 The Bellaventure was nine hours yesterday in ramming her way through four miles of ice.
1949 R. C. Hutchinson Elephant & Castle ii. xvii. 175 He..rammed his way through the crowd and charged upstairs.
1966 G. Greene Comedians ii. i. 170 A young fellow..lowered his head and tried to ram his way through towards the attraction at the centre.
2001 J. C. Grimwood Pashazade (2003) xxxix. 249 Hot summer wind rammed its way through ventilation ducts cut into the bike's aerodynamically perfect fairing.
Phrases
to ram home.
a. To force (a charge, etc.) into a firearm with a ramrod or other device, as far as possible (see sense 3d and cf. home adv. 4b); (more generally) to force or propel (something) into the place intended for it, or as far as possible into an opening or container.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > fire (a gun) [verb (transitive)] > load or prime (a gun) > ram
ram1598
to ram home1627
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. xiv. 66 A Rammer is a bob of wood..to ramme home the Powder.
1800 Naval Chron. 4 54 Muzzle the searcher, and ram it home in the gun.
1879 Man. Siege & Garrison Artillery Exercises 53 These wads are to be rammed home separately after the projectiles.
1914 J. M. Barrie Admirable Crichton ii. 80 He pushes the precious document into a soda-water bottle, and rams the cork home.
1948 Times 12 June 2/5 Paish rammed it [sc. the ball] home for his service with the set at 7—5.
1990 Amateur Gardening 3 Nov. 15/1 We used to ram home soil-based potting composts but now all-peat composts are only very lightly firmed.
1994 B. A. Staples Parallel Time xi. 230 I often placed the bullet into the breech, but never had the nerve to ram it home.
b. In extended use: to stress forcefully (an argument, etc.); to drive home (an advantage).
ΚΠ
1899 Times 27 Dec. 8/1 If he had a lesson to teach, he rammed it home to his audience.
1928 W. S. Churchill Let. 15 Apr. in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) xiii. 322 At the end of the week I go up to Newcastle for a big public meeting in order to ram home the policy in a great industrial centre.
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 44 He rattled [on] about it in the pulpit, at times leaning..over the edge of it to ram home a doctrinal point.
2000 D. Adebayo My Once upon Time (2001) v. 110 I'd been late for her so she'd be tardy too to ram home the point that time costs money.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ramv.2int.
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/, Irish English /ræm/ Now chiefly Irish English.† 2. transitive. To curse or swear at, using the word ‘rammee’ (cf. damn v. 7). Obsolete.
1. transitive. Used (often in optative subjunctive with no subject expressed) to express contempt, rejection, etc., of a person or thing (cf. damn v. 6). Also as int.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [verb (transitive)] > euphemisms for stronger oaths > for 'damn'
ram1645
slama1658
dang1793
dash1800
drat1857
soda1904
dagnab1916
1645 Parl. Post No. 7. 2 Swear unto us God damne you, swear unto us God ramme you, that you will fight with us who stand for the King.
1714 E. Ward Field-spy 34 A Bob to e'ery startling Oath they swore: Ram ye, cries one.
1899 S. MacManus In Chimney Corners 263 Oh, pancakes be rammed!
1900 Cent. Mag. Feb. 606 Ram ye, for an ass of a goat.
1919 E. Robins Messenger xxv. 265 You've only the girl to thank that I don't ram you to hell.
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 269/2 Ram exclamation, a disguised oath: ‘damn’.
1997 B. Share Slanguage 231/2 Ram!, damn!
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [verb (reflexive)]
ram1667
1667 E. Waterhouse Short Narr. Fire London 126 His Proclamations and Manifests against Prophaneness..disobeyed by..those who will Ram and Damn themselves to be his best friends.
1700 B. Furly Let. 20 Aug. in Corr. J. Locke (1976) 118 I mean the art of wrangling about words that most what signify nothing; about which the great HighWaymen of the Church, do ram and damn one another.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† ramv.3
Obsolete. rare.
1. transitive. Of a ram: to mate with (a ewe). Also intransitive. Cf. leap v. 9.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [verb (transitive)] > mate
blissom?a1475
tupa1616
rama1660
a1660 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais Third Bk. (1693) xii. 96 Paint him in the figure and shape of a Ram, ramming, and horned Ram [Fr. en figure de belier belinant, belier cornu].
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. vii. 134/1 A Ram, Rutteth or Rammeth the Ewe.
1694 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais (1737) v. 222 They will not be ridden, tupp'd, and ramm'd.
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 184 The rams had been some days put to ramming the ewes.
1743 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman (Dublin ed.) Aug. xxvi. 90 Not to suffer a small, or ill-shapen [ram]..to ram them.
2. transitive. coarse slang. Of a man: to have sexual intercourse with (a woman). Cf. tup v. 1, ram n.1 1c.
ΚΠ
?c1700 Ess. of Scandal (BL MS Harl. 6914) f. 148 v Ram all thy maids of honor whilst th'art able.
1724 Laugh & be Fat (ed. 9) 143 How the Sexton did Ram her.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
ramv.4
/ram/, U.S. /ræm/, Australian English /ræm/ Criminals' slang (originally and chiefly Australian). Now rare.
intransitive. With for. To act as an accomplice to a swindler or con man. Cf. ram n.5
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > break the law [verb (intransitive)] > carry out criminal activities > commit a crime or an offence > act as accomplice
ram1952
1952 Coast to Coast 1951–2 199 Siddy might have been ramming for you, but what you didn't know, my lad, was that he was helping me to hook you. You were a goner from the start.
1964 H. P. Tritton Time means Tucker (rev. ed.) 33 No one seemed to wake up to the fact that the second gentleman was ‘ramming’ for the first gentleman.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> as lemmas
RAM
RAM n. Royal Academy of Music.
Π
1852 Musical Times Jan. 321/2 The gentlemen of the choir of Ely Cathedral, assisted by Miss E. Taylor, R.A.M.
1891 G. B. Shaw in World 23 Dec. 15/2 I am not in the habit of advising novices to lay the foundations of their vocal methods in the R.A.M.
2006 Evening Standard (Nexis) 20 Mar. 43 Judith Weir's..opera hasn't been performed in London for a number of years and all credit to the RAM for tackling it.
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n.1eOE
n.21683
n.31723n.41864n.51941n.61957v.1c1330v.2int.1645v.3a1660v.41952as lemmas