dream English · revision 2684

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1250, Genesis and Exodus|origins=gem-pro *draumaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /driːm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dreem]], drem,^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) corresponding in sense to Old Norse draumr, Old Frisian drām, Old Saxon drōm, Dutch droom and Old High German troum (German Traum),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*draumaz]],^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps earlier “deception, illusion, phantom”,^(Etymonline) related to German trügen “to deceive” and Old Norse draugr “ghost”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) with possible cognates in Sanskrit druh- “to seek to harm” and Avestan druj- “lie, deceit”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In form it is identical with [[m|ang|drēam|t=joy, mirth, music]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) but much study has failed to prove that this is the source of the sleeping vision:^(Etymonline) the sense may have changed, influenced by Old Norse draumr,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) or “vision” may have been an unrecorded secondary sense in Old English,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) or the word may have been borrowed from early Scandinavian.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A train of images passing through the mind in sleep: about 1250, in ''The Story of Genesis and Exodus'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the mid-13th century;^(Etymonline) the verb, “to have dreams”, is also from about 1250.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Old English drēam, “joy, music”, is from before 830.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Old English verb drēman meant “to sing, rejoice, make music” and was obsolete by about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The transitive verb, “to see in a dream”, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and “to think idly or fancifully” from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A daydream or reverie indulged in while awake is a dream from 1581,^(OED 1989) something of dreamlike beauty from 1888,^(OED 1989) and an ideal or aspiration, as in ''the American dream'', from 1931.^(OED 1989) Johnson (1755) records Meric Casaubon's derivation from Greek, “the comedy of life”, “with more ingenuity than truth”.^(Johnson 1755) ''Dream up'' is by 1941,^(Etymonline) ''like a dream'', “effortlessly”, from 1949,^(OED 1989) and ''in your dreams'' from the 1970s in the United States.^(Cresswell 2021) Oxford is the city of ''dreaming spires'' after Matthew Arnold's poem ''Thyrsis'' (1866).^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 830 – Old English drēam, joy.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1250 – a dream in sleep; verb, to dream.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – verb, to see in a dream.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – to imagine idly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1581 – a daydream.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1888 – something of dreamlike beauty.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1931 – an aspiration.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – ''dream up''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A series of images, thoughts and feelings passing through the mind during [[sleep]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[daydream]]; a state of absent-mindedness.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A cherished hope or ambition.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(informal)'' Something wonderful or excellent: ''the car is a dream to drive''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Ideal; perfect: ''a dream house''.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To have dreams while asleep.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To daydream; to indulge in [[fantasy|alt=fantasies]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To hope or long for something.^(AHD)

+ # To consider possible: ''I wouldn't dream of it''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dreamful]]

+ * [[dreamfully]]

+ * [[dreamfulness]]

+ * [[dreamless]]

+ * [[dreamlessly]]

+ * [[dreamlessness]]

+ * [[dreamlike]]

+ * [[dreamingly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dreamy]]

+ * [[daydream]]

+ * [[dreamer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Both ''dreamed'' and ''dreamt'' are used for the past tense and past participle.^(Roach et al. 2011)^(MW Collegiate) In Scots a ''dream-bit'' was a piece of wedding cake to put under one's pillow and dream on.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}