Adjacent Words

Bream definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BREAM, n. A fish, the Cyprinus brama, an inhabitant of lakes and deep water, extremely insipid and little valued.
BREAM, v.t. In sea language,to burn off the filth,such as grass, sea week, ooze,etc., from a ship's bottom.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: flesh of various freshwater fishes of North America or of Europe [syn: bream, freshwater bream]
2: flesh of any of various saltwater fishes of the family Sparidae or the family Bramidae [syn: bream, sea bream]
3: any of numerous marine percoid fishes especially (but not exclusively) of the family Sparidae [syn: sea bream, bream]
4: any of various usually edible freshwater percoid fishes having compressed bodies and shiny scales; especially (but not exclusively) of the genus Lepomis [syn: freshwater bream, bream] v
1: clean (a ship's bottom) with heat

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural bream or breams) Etymology: Middle English breme, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German brahsima bream, Middle High German brehen to shine Date: 14th century 1. a bronze-colored European freshwater cyprinid fish (Abramis brama); broadly any of various related fishes 2. a. any of various marine fish (family Sparidae) related to the porgy — called also sea bream b. any of various freshwater sunfishes (Lepomis and related genera); especially bluegill II. transitive verb Etymology: probably from Dutch brem furze; from the use of burning furze in the cleaning Date: 1626 to clean (a ship's bottom) by heating and scraping

Britannica Concise

European food and game fish (Abramis brama) of the carp family (Cyprinidae). Found in lakes and slow rivers, the bream lives in schools and eats worms, mollusks, and other small animals. Deep-bodied, with flat sides and a small head, it is silvery with a bluish or brown back. It is usually about 12-20 in. (30-50 cm) long and weighs up to 13 lbs (6 kg). Other species called bream include the silver bream (Blicca bjoorkna), the golden shiner, and the sea breams (family Sparidae).

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. (pl. same) 1 a yellowish arch-backed freshwater fish, Abramis brama. 2 (in full sea bream) a similarly shaped marine fish of the family Sparidae. Etymology: ME f. OF bre(s)me f. WG 2. v.tr. Naut. hist. clean (a ship's bottom) by burning and scraping. Etymology: prob. f. LG: rel. to BROOM

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rosefish Rose"fish`, n. (Zo["o]l.) A large marine scorp[ae]noid food fish (Sebastes marinus) found on the northern coasts of Europe and America. called also red perch, hemdurgan, Norway haddok, and also, erroneously, snapper, bream, and bergylt. Note: When full grown it is usually bright rose-red or orange-red; the young are usually mottled with red and ducky brown.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sunfish Sun"fish`, n. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A very large oceanic plectognath fish (Mola mola, Mola rotunda, or Orthagoriscus mola) having a broad body and a truncated tail. (b) Any one of numerous species of perch-like North American fresh-water fishes of the family Centrachid[ae]. They have a broad, compressed body, and strong dorsal spines. Among the common species of the Eastern United States are Lepomis gibbosus (called also bream, pondfish, pumpkin seed, and sunny), the blue sunfish, or dollardee (L. pallidus), and the long-eared sunfish (L. auritus). Several of the species are called also pondfish. (c) The moonfish, or bluntnosed shiner. (d) The opah. (e) The basking, or liver, shark. (f) Any large jellyfish.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pondfish Pond"fish`, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of American fresh-water fishes belonging to the family Centrarchid[ae]; -- called also pond perch, and sunfish. Note: The common pondfish of New England (Lepomis gibbosus) is called also bream, pumpkin seed, and sunny. See Sunfish. The long-eared pondfish (Lepomis auritus) of the Eastern United States is distinguished by its very long opercular flap.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bream Bream, n. [OE. breme, brem, F. br[^e]me, OF. bresme, of German origin; cf. OHG. brahsema, brahsina, OLG. bressemo, G. brassen. Cf. Brasse.] 1. (Zo["o]l) A European fresh-water cyprinoid fish of the genus Abramis, little valued as food. Several species are known. 2. (Zo["o]l) An American fresh-water fish, of various species of Pomotis and allied genera, which are also called sunfishes and pondfishes. See Pondfish. 3. (Zo["o]l) A marine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera. See Sea Bream.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bream Bream, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Breamed; p. pr. & vb. n. Breaming.] [Cf. Broom, and G. ein schiff brennen.] (Naut.) To clean, as a ship's bottom of adherent shells, seaweed, etc., by the application of fire and scraping.