wemn.
/wɛm/, U.S. /wɛm/ Obsolete exc. archaic.figurative.1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iv. i. 46 I knaw and felis the wemmys and the way Of the ald fyre and flamb of luffis heit.1623 J. Bingham tr. Lipsius Compar. Rom. Manner Warre in tr. Xenophon Hist. X 2 b You spots and wems of noble Mars [tr. Lipsius vos maculae et vibices generosi Martis], which make the warres a refuge and sanctuarie for your villanies.
1. † b. With defining term, as of sin, etc. Obsolete.
a. Moral defilement; stain (of sin). Chiefly in without(en) wem = immaculate adj. 1. Obsolete exc. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > purity > pure [phrase]
without(en) wem?c1225
without (spot or) wrinkle1526
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [noun] > stain of, defilement
wem?c1225
tachec1330
tackc1425
imposthume1565
deformityc1571
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > [noun] > a moral blemish or stain
smitOE
wem?c1225
tachec1330
spot1340
wrinklea1400
tackc1425
iron mould1584
iron mole1599
soil1600
taintment1633
smirch1862
(a)
(b)1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 3111 Make not thy soule so wykked a wem To do wykkedness for pryde of hem.1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 7446 Þe þredde [sin] ys þe werste wem.c1400 Pilgr. Sowle (1483) i. xxii. 26 So clene of wem, that no thyng nedeth the To weyle, ne to wepe thy sinnes fore?1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxviv I wote wel wemme ne spotte maye not abyde, there so noble vertue haboundeth.?c1225 Ancrene Riwle (Cleo.: Scribe B) (1972) 8 Clene religiun & wið vte wem is Iseon [Scribe A wemes to Iseon] & helpen widewen [etc.].
c1290 St. Cecilia 10 in S. Eng. Leg. 490 Lat, louerd, myn herte wiþoute wem be.
c1330 Assump. Virg. (B.M. MS.) 647 Marie..Clene maide and clene wyf, Clene widewe with oute wem.
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xviii. 14 If thar ware noght lordid of me, than i sall be withouten wem.
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 304 Jamus telliþ of two religions; þe first is clene wit-oute wem…þe secounde is veyn religioun.
c1475 Partenay 466 That god..of the virgyn unfold Was born without wemme in hir attamed.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. x. 93 My son shall in a madyn light..Wythouten wem, os son thrugh glas.
1538 Bp. J. Longland Serm. Good Frydaye sig. C.ivv Impollutus. He was vndefylede. He lyued cleane without spotte or blotte, without wemme or stayne.
1573 J. Daus tr. H. Bullinger Hundred Serm. vpon Apocalipse (rev. ed.) ix. f. 29 Therfore was the Church of Smyrna right excellent, howbeit not vtterly without any wem.
1858 W. Morris Def. Guenevere 123 Rapunzel sings..Mary, maid withouten wem, Keep me!
ΚΠ
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xviii. 14 I sall be withouten wembe [v.r. wem] of dedly gilt.
c1340 R. Rolle Prose Treat. 38 For in hir [Mary] was full-hede of all vertus with-owttyne weme of synn.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xxi. 136 A mayde..With~oute wommanes wem in-to þis worlde brouhte hym.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 11208 Iesu hir childe bar she þore..Mayden wiþouten wem of flesshe.
a1450 Mirk's Festial 77 Oure Lord Ihesu Crist þat oure lady conceyuet of þe Holy Gost wythout wem of hyr body.
c1450 Cov. Myst. Prol. 5 Mary.. wold not be defylyde With spot nor wem of man.
1519 W. Horman Vulgaria i. f. 8v Our lady bare a chylde without any spot or wem of her virginite.
2. † b. Hurt, harm, injury. Obsolete. rare.† c. figurative. A break or pause (in time). Obsolete.
a. Material blemish, defect, injury, or stain. Obsolete exc. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [noun] > an imperfection > defect or fault or flaw > material
wem?c1225
flaw1604
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 277 Hwenne þe gast went ut..wiðute bruche & wem of his twa huses.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 930 That other bowe was of a plante Withoute wem, I dar warante.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. I. 185 Vppon þat hulle lettres þat were i-write in poudre were i-founde wiþ oute wem [L. illibatæ] at þe ȝeres ende.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1003 Saffer helde þe secounde stale, Þe calsydoyne þenne withouten wemme.
c1420 Chron. Vilod. 4228 Alle herre clothus..were..clene wtouȝt spotte ore wemme.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. ix. 157 Yf hit [water] be cleer apperyng like the skie, Withouten wem or signe of thingis vile.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 5v A bowe..not marred with knot gaule, wyndeshake, wem, freat or pynche.
?1553 Respublica (1952) ii. iii. 20 Naie honestie will not see a wemme on your Cote.
1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. iv. xxx. f. 151 All the clothes, that were about hym, semed..without wem or any blemish.
1657 C. Beck Universal Char. sig. M3 A wemme, v. flaw.
1673 J. Ray S. & E. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 79 Wem, a small fault, hole, decay or blemish, especially in cloth.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Wem, a small fretted place in a garment.
1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) (at cited word) I'd no idee that tree was so full o' wems as I've fun it oot to be.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [noun]
burstc1000
harmOE
scatheOE
teenOE
evil healc1175
waningc1175
hurt?c1225
quede?c1225
balec1275
damage1300
follyc1300
grill13..
ungain13..
torferc1325
eviltyc1330
wem1338
impairment1340
marring1357
unhend1377
sorrowc1380
pairingc1384
pairmentc1384
mischiefc1385
offencec1385
appairment1388
hindering1390
noyinga1398
bresta1400
envya1400
wemminga1400
gremec1400
wilc1400
blemishing1413
lesion?a1425
nocument?a1425
injuryc1430
mischieving1432
hindrance1436
detrimenta1440
ill1470
untroth1470
diversity1484
remordc1485
unhappinessc1485
grudge1491
wriguldy-wrag?1520
danger1530
dishort1535
perishment1540
wreaka1542
emperishment1545
impeachment1548
indemnity1556
impair1568
spoil1572
impeach1575
interestc1575
emblemishing1583
mishap1587
endamagement1593
blemishment1596
mischievance1600
damnificationa1631
oblesion1656
mishanter1754
vitiation1802
mar1876
jeel1887
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > harm or injury > [noun]
loathc900
teenOE
ungrithlOE
wemming1100
waningc1175
wrongc1275
prejudicec1300
derea1325
torferc1325
eviltyc1330
griefc1330
wem1338
injurec1374
truitc1390
noyinga1398
inconvenience14..
nocument?a1425
outraya1425
injuryc1430
mischieving1432
supprise1442
incommodityc1450
interess1489
grudge1491
tort1532
wreaka1542
impeachment1548
inconveniency1553
indemnity1556
interestc1575
abuse1595
mischievance1600
oblesion1656
grit1876
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1725) 76 So grete vengeance he nam of men of holy kirke, Þat not did no wem tille him ne no trespas.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun] > stretch, period, or portion of time > period of time between events or interval
waya1300
distancec1330
interstition1390
spacea1400
pastimea1513
vacance1533
intermission?1566
vacation1567
intervallum1574
interim1579
between-timea1586
wem1599
parenthesis1600
intermedium1611
betweena1616
fore-while?1615
interpolation1615
vacancya1616
interval1616
interstitium1624
slatcha1625
interspace1629
intermissa1633
between-spacea1641
interregnum1659
intervalea1661
interlapse1666
interlude1751
in-between1815
lapse1817
intermezzo1851
meanwhile1872
the world > action or operation > ceasing > temporary cessation of activity or operation > [noun] > a temporary cessation of activity or operation
pause1440
trip1584
interpause1595
wem1599
stand1602
vacation1617
interspiration1623
intercisiona1631
interregnum1659
lapse1838
shutdown1857
break1878
slip1898
seventh-inning stretch1915
standoff1918
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 43 This scuffling or bopeepe in the darke they had a while without weame or bracke.
3. Bodily blemish, disfigurement, or defect; also, the mark of a bodily injury, a cicatrix, a scar. Obsolete exc. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > scar
wama1000
wem1297
arra1300
nirtc1400
scara1425
cicatricec1450
fester?c1475
list1490
stool1601
cicatrix1641
cautery1651
seam1681
cicatricula1783
welt1800
sabre-cutc1820
stigmate1870
scarring1898
whelp1912
Mars bar1971
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 6897 Ȝif..hire vet in eny wemme be ybroȝt, Holdeþ hom gulti of þe dede.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2460 Þat barn þe best a-doun sette, wiþ-oute eny maner wem þe worse it to greue.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Exod. xii. 5 It shal ben a lombe with~outen wemme [L. absque macula].
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. IV. 231 He schewed opounliche þe wemmes of the sore woundes [L. vulnerum cicatrices] þat he hadde i-fonge in Egipt.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 19721 Men lete him dun Vte ouer þe walles o þe tun, Wit-vten ani wond or weme.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 247 Macula is a wem in a mannys iȝe.
1448–9 J. Metham Amoryus & Cleopes 1866 Hole and sound, with-owte wemme off yowre woundys, Nowe vp~ryse.
a1500 Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (?1510) sig. Z iij If a man..haue a wemme in a lym Shal a man vpbreyde it hym.
1526 R. Whitford tr. Martiloge 122 b A martyr slayne by ye swerde, whose holy body..was founde .xl. dayes after his dethe..hole wtout wemme.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 135/1 in Chron. I There appeared in his heade the signes and printes of tenne woundes or mo[r]e: All the whyche were grownen into one wemme.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 124v This is the Glasse Ladyes, where-in I woulde haue you.., rubbe out the wrinckles of the minde, and be not curious about the weams in the face.
a1613 E. Brerewood Enq. Langs. & Relig. (1614) xxii. 160 Although the wound be in some sort healed, yet the wemme or scarre still remaineth.
1820 W. Scott Monastery I. ix*. 271 ‘It is even so,’ he added,..‘neither wem nor wound—not as much as a rent in his frock!’
4. (By confusion with wen n.1) A raised spot; a protuberance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > protuberance or rounded projection > [noun] > a protuberance or protuberant part > relatively small
wem1567
wart1603
vesicle1672
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 36v Theophrast sayth that it [the Cedar tree] is of marveylous highe growth,..about the bodie without wem or knot.
1587 D. Fenner Def. Godlie Ministers sig. Rii Wemmes, bunches, and needlesse waightes of fatte.
1610 J. Donne Pseudo-martyr iv. 138 The Reformers..thought to..take off euery Mole, and paire away euery Wemme.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
† wemv.
Obsolete.
1. transitive. To disfigure, mutilate (a person, his body); to impair (the mind); to injure (a thing).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > [verb (transitive)] > to person or thing
werdec725
wemc900
forworkOE
evilc1000
teenOE
grievec1230
misdoc1230
mischievec1325
shond1338
endamagec1374
unrighta1393
damagea1400
disvail14..
disavail1429
mischief1437
outrayc1440
prejudice1447
abuse?1473
injuryc1484
danger1488
prejudicate1553
damnify?a1562
wrack1562
inviolate1569
mislestc1573
indemnify1583
qualify1584
interess1587
buse1589
violence1592
injure1597
bane1601
envya1625
prejudiciala1637
founder1655
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > maiming or mutilation > maim or mutilate [verb (transitive)]
wemc900
slaya1000
alithOE
hamblea1050
belimbc1225
dismember1297
lamec1300
maimc1325
shearc1330
unablec1380
emblemishc1384
magglec1425
magc1450
demember1491
disablea1492
manglea1500
menyie?a1513
mayhem1533
mutilatec1570
martyr1592
stump1596
bemaim1605
cripplea1616
martyrize1615
deartuate1623
hamstring1641
becripple1660
limb1674
truncate1727
dislimb1855
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iv. xxxii. 382 Wæs in ðæm mynstre sum geong monn, ðam unwlitig swyle & atolic his eagan wyrde & wemde.
a1225 Leg. Kath. 1426 Ah þæt wes miracle muchel, þæt nowðer nes iwemmet clað þæt ha hefden.
c1275 Laȝamon Brut 6380 Þat þorh his wraþþe his wit was i-wemmid.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 6965 Ledeþ me þanne to mi sone, þat he mowe yse Min fet aboue & ek bineþe, wer hii ywemmed be.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 22824 If þat ani..Was wemed, or on fote or on hand,..it sal na wem o þam be sene.
a1375 Joseph Arim. l. 678 Þenne com on fro þe fiht þat foule was wemmed, was striken of þat on Arm and bar hit in þat oþer.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. V. 213 He ordeyned þat a man þat were i-wemmed in his body [L. vitiatus corpore] schulde fonge non ordres.
2. To desecrate or violate; to hurt or harm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to
werdec725
wema1000
evilc1000
harmc1000
hinderc1000
teenOE
scathec1175
illc1220
to wait (one) scathec1275
to have (…) wrong1303
annoya1325
grievec1330
wrong1390
to do violence to (also unto)a1393
mischievea1393
damagea1400
annulc1425
trespass1427
mischief1437
poisonc1450
injurea1492
damnify1512
prejudge1531
misfease1571
indemnify1583
bane1601
debauch1633
lese1678
empoison1780
misguggle1814
nobble1860
strafe1915
to dick up1951
a1000 Ags. Ps. lxxxviii. 31 Gyf rihtwisnys min hi wemmaþ [L. profanaverint].
a1000 Ags. Laws II. 142 Gif he oðres ceorles wif wemme [L. maculaverit].
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4197 & þe wule he wolde þis tendre þing wemmy foule ynou.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 19504 For god him gette þat knawes al gode þat he wemmed neuer sacles blode.
3. To spot or stain with sin or impurity.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > pollute or defile
afileeOE
awemOE
filec1175
wemc1175
soila1250
foulc1330
defoula1340
bleckc1380
blemishc1380
pollutea1382
tache1390
sulpa1400
vilec1400
spota1413
stain1446
defilec1450
violate1490
tan1530
smear1549
beray1576
moil1596
discolour1598
smut1601
bespurtle1604
sullya1616
commaculatec1616
decolour?c1622
collutulate1623
deturpate1623
berust1631
smutch1640
discolorate1651
smoot1683
tarnish1695
tar1817
dirten1987
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 83 Alse þe liuendes godes sune in to þe meidene com & ho of hire meiden-had nawiht ne wemde.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2326 Sannte marȝe sahh. Þatt ȝho þa shollde wurrþenn. Wiþþ childe swa. þatt ȝho þær þurrh. Ne shollde nohht ben wemmedd.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. V. 213 Also he seide þat Adam his synn wemmed [L. laesit] Adam alone.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10021 Hir maidenhed..neuer wemmed was a dele.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 174 If the hous of Laban hadde be wemmed so cursidli as with the synne of ydolatrie.
a1500 Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (?1510) sig. G iijv And she after chylde berynge Shalbe wemmyd of nothynge.
4. To stain; to mark with spots.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > stain
mealeOE
litc1230
beblotc1374
depaintc1374
entachc1374
stain1382
tache1390
wem1398
molec1400
blob1429
blotc1440
imbruec1450
maculate?a1475
thorough-stain1593
commaculatec1616
stigmatizea1637
tattoo1774
staddle1828
bestain1869
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Tollem. MS.) viii. xxix Whan sche [the moon] passeþ upwarde to þe heyer cerclis, sche is bryȝte and clene; and þan sche semeþ nouȝt wemmid with no splek and suttynge.
1567 T. Drant in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie Ded. sig. *iij The verie Crounes and Scepters of best Monarks, and princes had bene rustie, wembde, and warpde with obliuion.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > disfigurement > [adjective] > blemished
wemmed1382
blemishedc1440
scarreda1593
flawful1881
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > [adjective] > polluted or defiled
wemmed1382
defouledc1440
defiled1530
spotteda1535
gleetous1535
commaculate1570
dreggy1593
inquinated?1593
sullied1683
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. xii. 15 Other vnclene it were, that is, wemmed and feble, other cleene, that is, hool and withouten wemme.
c1480 (a1400) St. Margaret 697 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 67 God forbed þat I with wenemyt [read wemmyt] handis sla þe in hy.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.?c1225
v.c900