rime
UK[raɪm]US[raɪm]
n
Frost, especially a white or hoary frost formed by the freezing of supercooled water droplets in fog onto solid surfaces.
n
Archaic spelling of 'rhyme' (correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words).
Etymology
The word 'rime' for frost has a direct lineage from Proto-Germanic hrīmaz, which is of uncertain deeper origin. It is a classic example of a simplex word, a tight linguistic unit whose meaning has remained remarkably stable from its ancient roots to its modern, specific meteorological sense. Its journey into English was straightforward, passing from Proto-Germanic into Old English as hrīm, retaining its core meaning of "frost" or "hoar-frost." The unrelated but identically spelled 'rime' meaning "rhyme" is a separate, later borrowing from Old French rime, which itself came from Latin rithmus and Greek rhythmos, creating a homographic pair in English through convergent spelling.
Analysis
This word is a simplex form. It is a loanword from Old English hrīm, meaning "hoarfrost."
Examples
The trees were beautifully coated with a thick layer of rime.
In the cold morning air, the rime sparkled on the fence wires.
The old poet preferred the spelling "rime" to "rhyme" in his verses.