teme

See also: temé, temè, temê, temē, and Teme

English

Etymology

Blend of technological +‎ meme; introduced by Susan Blackmore in 2008.

Noun

teme (plural temes)

1. A meme which lives in a technological artifact rather than the human mind.

Anagrams

• etem, meet, mete, teem

Bangi

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-tédam.

Verb

teme

1. to stand

Classical Nahuatl

Noun

teme

1. obsolete spelling of temeh

Corsican

Etymology

From Latin timēre.

Verb

teme

1. fear

Dutch

Verb

teme

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of temen

Galician

Verb

teme

1. inflection of temer:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈte.me/, /ˈtɛ.me/
• Rhymes: -eme, -ɛme
• Hyphenation: té‧me, tè‧me

Verb

teme

1. third-person singular present indicative of temere

Anagrams

• mete

Japanese

Romanization

teme

1. Rōmaji transcription of てめ

Lingala

Etymology

Borrowed from Bangi teme.

Verb

teme

1. to stop, to stand

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French teme, tesme, from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma).

Alternative forms

• teeme, theme, tyme

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈteːm(ə)/

Noun

teme (plural temes)

2. topic, focus, matter
3. document, text

Descendants

• English: theme
• Middle Scots: theame, thewme
  • Scots: theme

Etymology 2

Noun

teme

1. alternative form of tem (“group”)

Etymology 3

Noun

teme

1. (Northern) alternative form of tyme (“time”)

Etymology 4

Verb

teme

1. alternative form of temen (“to give birth, to support”)

Etymology 5

Verb

teme

1. alternative form of temen (“to drain, to empty”)

Etymology 6

Verb

teme

1. alternative form of temen (“to tame”)

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈteː.me/
• Rhymes: -eː.me

Verb

tēme

1. inflection of tēman:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. singular present subjunctive

Papiamentu

Etymology

Likely from Portuguese teimar.

Verb

teme

1. to insist

References

Jacobs, Bart (January 2013), “Reassessment of the Portuguese contribution to the Papiamentu lexicon”, in Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, volume 28, number 1, John Benjamins Publishing Company, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 162 of 154–165

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtẽ.mi/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.mɨ/

• Hyphenation: te‧me

Verb

teme

1. inflection of temer:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Romanian

Alternative forms

• теме (teme) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈte.me/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eme
• Hyphenation: te‧me

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin timēre, through a Vulgar Latin intermediate *tīmĕre.

Verb

a teme (third-person singular present teme, past participle temut, third-person subjunctive teamă) 3rd conjugation

1. (reflexive) to fear [with de]

Conjugation

    conjugation of teme (third conjugation, past participle in -ut)

infinitive			a teme
gerund			temând
past participle			temut
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	tem	temi	teme	temem	temeți	tem
	imperfect	temeam	temeai	temea	temeam	temeați	temeau
	simple perfect	temui	temuși	temu	temurăm	temurăți	temură
	pluperfect	temusem	temuseși	temuse	temuserăm	temuserăți	temuseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să tem	să temi	să teamă	să temem	să temeți	să teamă
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		teme			temeți
	negative		nu teme			nu temeți

Derived terms

• temere

Related terms

• teamă
• teamăt
• temoare

Etymology 2

Inflected form of temă.

Noun

teme f

1. inflection of temă:
   1. indefinite plural
   2. indefinite genitive/dative singular

Further reading

• “teme”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• tjȅme (Ijekavian)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *těmę.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tême/
• Hyphenation: te‧me

Noun

tȅme n (Cyrillic spelling те̏ме)

1. top, crown (of the head)
2. top, apex

Declension

Declension of teme

	singular	plural
nominative	tȅme	temèna
genitive	tȅmena	teménā
dative	temenu	temenima
accusative	teme	temena
vocative	teme	temena
locative	temenu	temenima
instrumental	temenom	temenima

Noun

teme (Cyrillic spelling теме)

1. inflection of tema:
   1. genitive singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative plural

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈteme/ [ˈt̪e.me]
• Rhymes: -eme
• Syllabification: te‧me

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English teme.

Noun

teme m (plural temes)

1. teme (technological meme)

Etymology 2

Verb

teme

1. inflection of temar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Etymology 3

Verb

teme

1. inflection of temer:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “teme”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026

Tetelcingo Nahuatl

Noun

teme

1. plural of tietetu

Wauja

Tapirus terrestris in the Pantanal. Photo: Bill McDavid.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.mɛ/

Noun

teme

1. tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

References

• E. Ireland field notes, confirmed with Piitsa, Muri, and other elders (all experienced hunters) in 1982 using José Cândido de Melo Carvalho's Atlas da Fauna Brasileira, Edições Melhoramentos, São Paulo, 1981.