What does rimer mean?
A rimer is an uncommon English noun with two historical senses. In workshop terminology, it denotes a tool used to ream a hole—that is, to enlarge, clean, or shape it, often to a taper. In literary and archaic usage, a rimer is a person who writes rhyming verse, especially a composer of simple or popular rhymes. The two meanings reflect the word’s connection with two older English traditions: the craft of making and finishing materials, and the art of making sound correspondences at the ends of lines. Modern speakers are more likely to use “reamer” for the tool and “poet,” “versifier,” or “rhymester” for the writer. Although no longer common, “rimer” has a certain appeal because it preserves a compact name for both the workshop implement and the maker of rhymes.
nounA rimer is either an obsolete tool used to enlarge or shape a hole by reaming, or an archaic term for a person who composes rhyming verse.
- A tool used to enlarge, smooth, or shape a hole, especially by tapering.
- An obsolete person who composed rhyming verse.
"The carpenter selected a narrow rimer to enlarge the hole before fitting the dowel."
"He worked the edge of the opening with a small rimer until it fit the peg."
"In the old manuscript, the rimer is praised for turning village songs into polished verse."
The regular plural is “rimers”; the plural is rarely encountered because the headword is uncommon.
"The workshop kept a set of old rimers in a worn wooden case."
Once a fixture of the workshop and the poets’ craft, “rimer” now survives mainly in dictionaries and the margins of older verse.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rimer come from?
The literary sense of “rimer” was formed from “rime,” an older form of “rhyme,” with the suffix “-er,” meaning a person who performs an action. The verb “rime,” now generally replaced by “rhyme,” historically referred to composing or marking verse with corresponding sounds. The tool sense belongs to the vocabulary of woodworking and metalworking and is associated with the older verb “ream,” meaning to enlarge or shape a hole. The word is now largely archaic, although it remains recognizable in specialized and historical contexts.
Related word forms
How rimer is actually used
The word is now uncommon in ordinary modern English. Its tool sense is chiefly dated or regional, while its writer’s sense is archaic and literary.
Easily confused with rimer
A rimer is an archaic term for a reaming tool, while a reamer is the usual modern name for that tool.
A rimer was an archaic word for a rhyming versifier, whereas a rhymer more commonly denotes a device or process that makes rhyme.