tame
pronunciation
How to pronounce tame in British English:
UK [teɪm]
How to pronounce tame in American English:
US [teɪm]
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- Verb:
- correct by punishment or discipline
- make less strong or intense; soften
- adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment
- overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable
- make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans
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- Adjective:
- flat and uninspiring
- very restrained or quiet
- brought from wildness into a domesticated state
- very docile
Word Origin
- tame
- tame: [OE] Tame evolved from a prehistoric Germanic *tamaz, which also produced German zahm and Dutch tam. This in turn was descended from the Indo-European base *dom-, which also lay behind Latin domāre ‘tame, subdue’ (source of English daunt [13] and indomitable [17]) and Greek damán ‘tame, subdue’ (source of English adamant and diamond).=> adamant, daunt, diamond, indomitable
- tame (adj.)
- early Middle English tame "in a state of subjection, physically subdued, restrained in behavior" (c. 1200); of animals "domesticated, reclaimed from wildness," also, of persons, "meek, gentle-natured, compliant, intent on homely or domestic activities" (mid-13c.), from oblique forms of Old English tom, tam "domesticated, docile," from Proto-Germanic *tamaz (cognates: Old Norse tamr, Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch tam, Old High German zam, German zahm "tame," Gothic tamjan "to tame"), from PIE *deme- "to constrain, to force, to break (horses)" (cognates: Sanskrit damayati "tames;" Persian dam "a tame animal;" Greek daman "to tame, subdue," dmetos "tame;" Latin domare "to tame, subdue;" Old Irish damnaim "I tie up, fasten, I tame, subdue"). A possible ulterior connection is with PIE *dem- "house, household" (see domestic (adj.)). Meaning "spiritless, weak, dull, uninspiring, insipid" is recorded from c. 1600. Related: Tamely; tameness.
- tame (v.)
- mid-14c., from tame (adj.), or altered by the form of the adjective from Old English temian "subdue, make tame," from Proto-Germanic *tamjan- (cognates: Old Norse temja, Old Frisian tema, Middle Dutch temmen, Old High German zemmen, German zähmen, Gothic tamjan). Related: Tamed; taming.
Synonym
Example
- 1. A boy was playing with a tame snake .
- 2. Nutrition experts offer these simple tips to tame your urges .
- 3. Could a more responsible swiss banking system help tame the dictator ?
- 4. Palaniappan chidambaram is the latest to try to tame the fiscal beast .
- 5. Central banks that rely on the credit crunch to tame rising prices may regret it .