the verb 'teem' originates from the old english 'tēman' or 'tīeman', meaning "to give birth to, produce, or bring forth." this old english term is itself derived from the proto-germanic 'taumijaną', meaning "to pull, draw, or lead," which is connected to the idea of bringing forth offspring. the semantic journey saw a shift from the act of producing or being fertile to describing a place that is abundantly full or swarming with life. a separate, homophonous verb 'teem', meaning "to pour down (rain)," comes from old norse 'tœma', meaning "to empty," creating an interesting convergence where both senses now imply a state of abundant flow or presence.

this word is a simplex form derived from old english. it is not productively formed from separable modern english morphemes.