I. ˈtram, -aa(ə)- noun
( -s )
Etymology: French trame woof, weft, tram, from Latin trama woof, weft — more at trama
: a loosely twisted silk yarn made by doubling and twisting two or more filaments together and usually used for the weft of a fabric
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from Low German traam beam, handle of a barrow, from Middle Low German trāme; akin to Middle Dutch traem, trame beam, tooth of a rake, Middle Low German treme crossbar
1.
a. dialect Britain : a shaft of a vehicle (as a handbarrow or wheelbarrow)
b. Scotland : leg , limb
c. dialect England : bench
a tram for dairy tubs
2. : any of various vehicles: as
a. : a boxlike wagon often of steel running on a tramway or railway (as in a mine or logging camp) for conveying coal, ore, or logs
b. chiefly Britain : a passenger car of a street railway : streetcar
that once characteristically British vehicle, the double-decked tram , is disappearing from one city after another — Paul Jennings
c. : a carrier that travels on an overhead cable or rails
3.
a. trams plural , chiefly Britain : a streetcar line
b. : a tramway rail
c.
(1) : tramway
(2) : tramroad
III. verb
( trammed ; trammed ; tramming ; trams )
intransitive verb
1. Britain : to travel in a tramcar
2. Britain : to operate a tram or a tramway system
transitive verb
1. : to haul (as coal) in a tram
2. : to haul (lumber) over a tramway
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: by shortening
: trammel 6c
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: by shortening & alteration
slang : trombone