What does rheum mean?
Rheum is an uncommon noun for a watery bodily secretion, especially tears, saliva, or mucus. In contemporary English it is most often encountered in literary writing or in older medical and idiomatic expressions such as salt rheum, which refers to tears or an eye discharge associated with irritation. The word can sound dramatic or antiquarian, giving sentences in which it appears a poetic or deliberately archaic atmosphere. Its historical importance is greater than its modern everyday use: rheum belongs to a family of medical and scientific terms connected with the Greek concept of flow, including rheumatism and rheology. For most readers, rheum will be most recognizable from literature and the phrase salt rheum rather than from ordinary conversation.
nounA watery secretion, especially tears, saliva, or mucus. The word is now chiefly literary or archaic rather than everyday.
- A watery secretion, especially tears, saliva, or mucus.
- The bodily fluid associated with tears, particularly in phrases such as salt rheum.
"A faint smile softened the rheum in her eyes."
"The child wiped the rheum from his eyes with the back of his hand."
"The phrase refers to an irritation of the eyes that produces a watery discharge."
The plural is possible but rare; rheum is often used as a mass noun.
"The physician described several kinds of rheums affecting the eyes and throat."
Once a familiar word for tears, rheum now sounds like a relic of older poetic English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rheum come from?
Rheum comes through Middle English from Latin rheuma, a term borrowed from Greek rheûma, meaning a flow or current, especially of bodily fluids. The Greek root rheîn means to flow, and it also underlies related medical and scientific words concerning flowing liquids. In English, the meaning narrowed over time from a general bodily fluid or discharge to watery secretions such as tears and mucus, while the older sense remains visible in phrases such as salt rheum.
Related word forms
How rheum is actually used
Rheum is uncommon in modern English and has a literary, archaic, or medical tone. It can refer to several watery secretions, so context is important.