TAME

I. adjective (~r; ~st) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English tam; akin to Old High German zam ~, Latin domare to ~, Greek damnanai Date: before 12th century reduced from a state of native wildness especially so as to be tractable and useful to humans ; domesticated , made docile and submissive ; subdued , lacking spirit, zest, interest, or the capacity to excite ; insipid , ~ly adverb ~ness noun II. verb (~d; taming) Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to reduce from a wild to a domestic state, to subject to cultivation, to bring under control ; harness , to deprive of spirit ; humble , subdue , to tone down ; soften , intransitive verb to become ~, tamable or ~able adjective ~r noun