dram

dram

See also: DRAM, Dram, and dràm

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 (UK)

    (file)

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æm

Noun

dram (plural drams)

1. (units of measurement) A small unit of weight, variously:
   1. One sixteenth of an ounce avoirdupois (approximately 1.77 g).
   2. (pharmacy) Alternative form of drachm (“¹⁄₈ ounce apothecary (3.89 g) (symbol: ℨ)”).
   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).
2. (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 879551664:

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

   • 1719 April 25​, [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, OCLC 838630407, 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'

3. (historical, mining) A cart formerly used to haul coal in coal mines.
4. (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 [i.e., the Persian daric] of gold, and five thousand pound of silver […]

Synonyms

• (small amount of something): mite, smidge, smidgeon, bit, pinch
• (small amount of alcohol): nip, shot, slug, snifter, tot

Derived terms

• angel's dram
• dram shop liability

Descendants

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

Translations

¹⁄₁₆ ounce avoirdupois

Finnish: dram (fi) Portuguese: dracma (pt) f

¹⁄₈ ounce apothecary — see drachm

Greek weight — see drachma

Turkish weight — see dirhem

minute quantity

Finnish: hitunen (fi), hiven (fi), hyppysellinen (fi) (solid, also figuratively); tilkka (fi), tilkkanen (liquid) Portuguese: dedo (pt) m

small quantity of an alcoholic drink

Danish: dram c Faroese: drammur m Finnish: tuikku (fi), naukku (fi), huikka (fi), tilkkanen German: Kurzer (de) m Norman: dranme f Portuguese: dedo (pt) m Scottish Gaelic: dràm m

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, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], OCLC 809623158:

     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 (UK)

    (file)

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

Noun

dram (plural drams)

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

Translations

currency unit of Armenia

Armenian: դրամ (hy) (dram) Georgian: დრამი (drami) Greek: ντραμ (el) n (dram) Navajo: dwam Romanian: dram (ro) m Russian: драм (ru) m (dram)

Anagrams

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

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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

Declension of dram

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dram	drammen	dramme drammer	drammene drammerne
genitive	drams	drammens	drammes drammers	drammenes drammernes

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑm

Verb

dram

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

Anagrams

• darm, R'dam

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

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 brandy)

References

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

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

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 brandy)

References

• “dram” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *draum.

Noun

drām m

1. a dream

Inflection

Declension of drām (masculine a-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	drām	drāmar, drāma
accusative	drām	drāmar, drāma
genitive	drāmes	drāma
dative	drāme	drāmum, drāmem

Descendants

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

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Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdram/
• Rhymes: -am

Etymology 1

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

Declension of dram

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) dram	dramul	(niște) dramuri	dramurile
genitive/dative	(unui) dram	dramului	(unor) dramuri	dramurilor
vocative	dramule		dramurilor

Etymology 2

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

Declension of dram

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) dram	dramul	(niște) drami	dramii
genitive/dative	(unui) dram	dramului	(unor) drami	dramilor
vocative	dramule		dramilor

References

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