rheum
/ɹuːm/
"rheum" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rheum” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Thin or watery discharge of mucus or serum, especially from the eyes or nose, formerly thought to cause disease.
Corpus desk
Index EN-rheum · rheum · English
rheum · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "R" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rheum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹuːm/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “rheum” in English
Rare enough to double-check
rheum is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɹuːm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for rheum in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English reume, rewme, from Anglo-Norman reume, from Late Latin rheuma, from Ancient Greek ῥεῦμα (rheûma, “stream, humour”). Doublet of stream. The correct English form is rheum, spelled R-H-E-U-M.
Definition
- 1Thin or watery discharge of mucus or serum, especially from the eyes or nose, formerly thought to cause disease.
- 2Illness or disease thought to be caused by such secretions; a catarrh, a cold; rheumatism.
- 3Tears.
- 4Rheumatologist.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how rheum appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
You that did voide your rume vpon my beard, / And foote me as you ſpurne a ſtranger curre / Ouer your threſhold, […]
[T]thronging theaters of people (as well Aliens as Engliſhmen) hiued thither about the ſelling of fiſh and Herring, from Saint Michael to Saint Martin, and there built ſutlers booths and tabernacles, to canopie their heads in from the rhewme of the heauens, or the clouds diſſoluing Cataracts.
Etymology
From Middle English reume, rewme, from Anglo-Norman reume, from Late Latin rheuma, from Ancient Greek ῥεῦμα (rheûma, “stream, humour”). Doublet of stream.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.