ram
pronunciation
How to pronounce ram in British English:
UK [ræm]
How to pronounce ram in American English:
US [ræm]
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- Noun:
- a tool for driving or forcing something by impact
- uncastrated adult male sheep
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- Verb:
- strike or drive against with a heavy impact
- force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically
- undergo damage or destruction on impact
- crowd or pack to capacity
Word Origin
- ram
- ram: [OE] Ram is a general West Germanic word for ‘male sheep’, now shared only by Dutch (although German has the derivative ramme ‘rammer’). It may be related to Old Norse ramr ‘strong’, the allusion being to the ram’s strength in butting. This is reflected in the word’s metaphorical applications: it was being used in Old English for a ‘battering-ram’, and by the 14th century the verb ram had emerged.Another relative is the verb ramble [17], which etymologically denotes ‘wander around like a randy ram, looking for ewes to copulate with’. It was borrowed from Middle Dutch rammelen, a derivative of rammen ‘copulate with’, which is connected with ram.=> ramble
- ram (v.)
- "to beat with a heavy implement," c. 1300, from ram (n.). Related: Rammed; ramming.
- ram (n.)
- Old English ramm "male sheep," also "battering ram" and the zodiac sign; earlier rom "male sheep," a West Germanic word (cognates: Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Old High German ram), of unknown origin. Perhaps [Klein] connected with Old Norse rammr "strong," Old Church Slavonic ramenu "impetuous, violent."
- RAM (n.)
- 1957, acronym for random access memory (computerese).
Example
- 1. Another piece depicted a ram with his head turned back .
- 2. Early last year , a survey ship hired by forum energy reported that two chinese vessels in the area had threatened to ram it .
- 3. This unit can ram piles right into the water .
- 4. The protesters had earlier used a truck to ram the gates of the parliamentary compound before running into the building , forcing suthep thaugsuban , deputy prime minister , and other ministers to scale a wall and escape by helicopter .
- 5. Directly after the hajj , muslims all over the world will observe eid al-adha , or the festival of sacrifice . The feast honors abraham who , according to muslim tradition , was prepared to sacrifice his son ishmael before god sent a ram in his place .