dram

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English dragme, dramme, from Old French dragme, drame, from Late Latin dragma, from Latin drachma, from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ, “unit of weight; a handful”). Doublet of drachma, diram, dirham, dirhem, and adarme.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɹæm/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æm

Noun

dram (plural drams)

1. (units of measurement) A small unit of weight, variously:
   1. Alternative form of drachm (“One sixteenth of an ounce avoirdupois (1.77 g; symbol: ℨ or ʒ)”).
   2. (pharmacy) Alternative form of drachm (“One eighth of an ounce apothecary (3.89 g; symbol: ℨ or ʒ)”).
   3. (now uncommon) Synonym of dirhem: a former Turkish unit of weight (variously 1.5–3.5 g).
      • 1888, W.M.F. Petrie, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. XXIV, s.v. "Weights and Measures":

        Dram (49·5 grains), 100=chequi, 4=oka (2·8286 ℔); dram (49·5 grains), 180=rotl, 100=kintal or kantar (127·29 ℔).

   4. (obsolete) Synonym of drachma: a former Greek unit of weight (about 4.3 g).
3. (by extension) Any similarly minute quantity, (now particularly) a small amount of strong alcohol or poison.

   a dram of brandy

   • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC:

     Were I the chooser, a dram of well-doing should be preferred before many times as much the forcible hindrance of evildoing.

   • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, , London: W Taylor , →OCLC, pages 281–282:

     When Friday came to him I bade him ſpeak to him, and tell him of his Deliverance, and pulling out my Bottle, made him give the poor Wretch a Dram, which, with the News of his being deliver'd, reviv'd him, and he ſat up in the Boat […]

   • 1920, Marshall Walker, Will E. Skidmore (lyrics and music), “Save a Little Dram for Me”‎performed by Bert Williams:

     Oh, brethren, if you wants more preachin'
     Save a little dram for me (Glory hallelujah!)
     Drinkin' gin ain't against my teachin'

4. (historical, mining) A cart formerly used to haul coal in coal mines.
   • 1946 November and December, “The Saundersfoot Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 340:

     The rolling stock, consisting entirely of four-wheel open trucks, or drams, was broken up at Bonvilles Court Colliery.

5. (obsolete) Synonym of drachma: a Greek silver coin weighing one drachma; other similar coins.
   • The Bible (King James Version), Ezra 2:69

     They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver

Synonyms

• (small amount of something): mite, smidge, smidgeon, bit, pinch
• (small amount of alcohol): see nip

Derived terms

• angel's dram
• dram shop liability

Descendants

• → Danish: dram
  • → Faroese: drammur
  • → Norwegian: dram
• → Scottish Gaelic: dràm

Translations

Verb

dram (third-person singular simple present drams, present participle dramming, simple past and past participle drammed)

1. (dated, intransitive) To drink drams.
   • 1857, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Recollections of a Lifetime:

     What I contend against is, this dramming, dramming, dramming, at all hours of the day. There are some men who take a glass at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and at four in the afternoon.

2. (dated, transitive) To ply with drams of drink.
   • 1854, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, , →OCLC:

     The parents […] are getting ready their daughter for sale […] praying her, and imploring her, and dramming her, and coaxing her.

Etymology 2

From Armenian դրամ (dram), from Middle Persian 𐭦𐭥𐭦𐭭 (zʿzn /⁠drahm⁠/), from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ, “unit of weight, a handful”), from δράσσομαι (drássomai, “I hold, seize”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɹæm/, /dɹɑm/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

Noun

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Armenian dram

Wikipedia

dram (plural drams)

1. (numismatics) The currency of Armenia, divided into 100 luma.

Translations

Anagrams

• AMDR, Adm'r, RADM, RAdm, arm'd, mard

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English dram, from Old French drame, variant of dragme.

Noun

dram c (singular definite drammen, plural indefinite dramme or drammer)

1. dram (a small quantity of an alcoholic drink)

Inflection

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑm

Verb

dram

1. inflection of drammen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

Anagrams

• darm, R'dam

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from English dram, from Old French drame, from Latin drachma, from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ). Doublet of drakme.

Noun

dram m (definite singular drammen, indefinite plural drammer, definite plural drammene)

1. a dram, nip, shot (usually of akvavit)

References

• “dram” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “dram” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from English dram, from Old French drame, from Latin drachma, from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ). Doublet of drakme.

Noun

dram m (definite singular drammen, indefinite plural drammar, definite plural drammane)

1. a dram, nip, shot (usually of akvavit)
2. a drink (alcohol)

   Eg skal til kroa og ta meg ein liten dram

   I'm going to the pub to take a drink

References

• “dram” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *draum.

Noun

drām m

1. a dream

Inflection

Descendants

• North Frisian: drom
• Saterland Frisian: Droom
• West Frisian: dream

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdram/
• Rhymes: -am

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Greek δράμι (drámi), from Byzantine Greek δράμι (drámi), from Arabic دِرْهَم (dirham), from Middle Persian 𐭦𐭥𐭦𐭭 (drahm), from Ancient Greek δραχμή f (drakhmḗ, “drachma”).

Noun

dram n (plural dramuri)

1. (historical) dram (unit of measurement)
2. (figurative) tiny amount

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Armenian դրամ (dram), from Middle Persian 𐭦𐭥𐭦𐭭 (drahm), from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ).

Noun

dram m (plural drami)

1. (numismatics) dram (currency of Armenia)

Declension

References

• dram in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English drum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɾam/,

Noun

dram (Baybayin spelling ᜇ᜔ᜇᜋ᜔)

1. drum (barrel or large cylindrical container)
2. (music) drum

   Synonyms: tambol, bombo

See also

• bariles

Further reading

• “dram”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018