Link Centre Dictionary

tame

UK/teɪm/ US/ˈteɪm/ fairly common uk
adjective (4) verb (5)

adjective

1.
2.

very restrained or quiet

  • “a tame Christmas party”
  • “she was one of the tamest and most abject creatures imaginable with no will or power to act but as directed”
Antonyms
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3.

brought from wildness into a domesticated state

  • “tame animals”
  • “fields of tame blueberries”
Synonyms
Antonyms
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4.

very docile

  • “tame obedience”
  • “meek as a mouse” Langston Hughes
Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.
2.

make less strong or intense; soften

  • “Tone down that aggressive letter”
  • “The author finally tamed some of his potentially offensive statements”
Synonyms
3.

adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment

  • “domesticate oats”
  • “tame the soil”
Synonyms
4.

overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable

  • “He tames lions for the circus”
  • “reclaim falcons”
Synonyms
5.

make fit for cultivation, domestic life, and service to humans

  • “The horse was domesticated a long time ago”
  • “The wolf was tamed and evolved into the house dog”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English tame, tome, weak inflection forms of Middle English tam, tom, from Old English tam, tom (“domesticated, tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *tam (“tame”), from Proto-Germanic *tamaz (“brought into the home, tame”), from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- (“to tame, dominate”). Cognate with Scots tam, tame (“tame”), Saterland Frisian tom (“tame”), West Frisian tam (“tame”), Dutch tam (“tame”), Low German Low German tamm, tahm (“tame”), German zahm (“tame”), Danish tam (“tame”), Swedish tam (“tame”), Icelandic tamur (“tame”). The verb is from Middle English tamen, temen, temien, from Old English temian (“to tame”), from Proto-West Germanic *tammjan, from Proto-Germanic *tamjaną (“to tame”).

Phrases

  • a wild goose never laid a tame egg
  • pudding and tame

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Broader terms

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See also

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.