Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A watery or thin mucous discharge from the eyes or nose.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A genus of apetalous plants of the order Polygonaceæ and tribe Rumiceæ.
  • noun It is characterized by its (usually) nine stamens, and its six-parted perianth which remains unchanged in fruit, around the three-winged and exserted fruit. There are about 20 species, natives of Siberia, the Himalayas, and western Asia. They are stout herbs from thick and somewhat woody rootstocks, with large toothed or lobed and wavy leaves, and loose dry stipular sheaths. The small white or greenish pedicelled bractless flowers are in racemed fascicles, the racemes panicled. The floral leaves are in some species small, in others large and colored, as in R. nobile, a remarkable species of the Sikhim Himalayas. For this and other species, see rhubarb, the common name of the genus. See also cuts under plumule and rhubarb.
  • noun A mucous discharge, as from the nostrils or lungs during a cold; hence, catarrhal discharge from the air-passages, nose, or eyes.
  • noun A thin serous fluid, secreted by the mucous glands, etc., as in catarrh; humid matter which collects in the eyes, nose, or mouth, as tears, saliva, and the like.
  • noun Spleen; choler.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) A serous or mucous discharge, especially one from the eves or nose.
  • noun (Med.) See Salt rheum, in the Vocabulary.
  • noun (Bot.) A genus of plants. See rhubarb.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a watery discharge from the mucous membranes (especially from the eyes or nose)
  • noun rhubarb

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English reume, from Old French, from Late Latin rheuma, from Greek, a flowing, rheum; see sreu- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Anglo-Norman roume, reume, Middle French rume, ryeume, and their source, Late Latin rheuma, from Ancient Greek ῥεῦμα ("stream, humour").

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Examples

  • The diseases of the body explain themselves by their increase; we find that to be the gout which we called a rheum or a strain; the diseases of the soul, the greater they are, keep, themselves the most obscure; the most sick are the least sensible; therefore it is that with an unrelenting hand they most often, in full day, be taken to task, opened, and torn from the hollow of the heart.

    The Essays of Montaigne — Volume 15 Michel de Montaigne 1562

  • The diseases of the body explain themselves by their increase; we find that to be the gout which we called a rheum or a strain; the diseases of the soul, the greater they are, keep, themselves the most obscure; the most sick are the least sensible; therefore it is that with an unrelenting hand they most often, in full day, be taken to task, opened, and torn from the hollow of the heart.

    The Essays of Montaigne — Complete Michel de Montaigne 1562

  • They have the power (MONEY) and will attack everyone that disagrees with them. sade rheum

    Hadassah Lieberman under attack over industry ties 2009

  • DROMIO: I looked for the chalky cliffs, but I could find no whiteness in them; but I guess it stood in her chin, by the salt rheum that ran between France and it.

    The Cartographic Me (Plate I: Legs) | clusterflock 2010

  • The next day, Drew sits at a downtown bar with rheum in his eyes.

    Broken Social Scene: precariously back together again - Arts & Culture - Macleans.ca 2010

  • Here are a few of the alternatives it did give me: “rhea,” “Rh,” “hep,” “rheum,” and “rh.” yes, all of those seem like much preferably words to a simple “the.”

    Fast or Slow, Dumb or Smart | Motivational Humor from the Motivational Smart Ass! 2009

  • Iffin taht nawt gud, mai IRL werk pleh pleh lets me manij sum sports senters – tehy has rilly hai seelings, nd lots of rheum. lolcatburglar says:

    Cant play wif u anymoar… - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2009

  • This is the prince of leeches; fever, plague, Cold rheum, and hot podagra, do but look on him, And quit their grasp upon the tortured sinews.

    The Talisman 2008

  • So cheek by jowl we drool a common rheum that stultifies not one but all.

    Ridicule Ivan Donn Carswell 2008

  • So cheek by jowl we drool a common rheum that stultifies not one but all.

    Archive 2008-04-01 Ivan Donn Carswell 2008

Comments

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  • "AUFIDIUS: There was it;--

    For which my sinews shall be stretch'd upon him.

    At a few drops of women's rheum, which are

    As cheap as lies, he sold the blood and labour

    Of our great action..."

    - William Shakespeare, 'The Tragedy of Coriolanus'.

    August 29, 2009