team
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /tiːm/
homophone: teem
rhymes: -iːm
Forms: form: teams
Etymology: From Middle English tem, teem, teme, from Old English tēam (“child-bearing, offspring, brood, set of draught animals”), from Proto-West Germanic *taum, from Proto-Germanic *taumaz (“that which draws or pulls”), from Proto-Germanic *taugijaną, *tugōną, *teuhōną, *teuhaną (“to lead, bring, pull, draw”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull, lead”). Cognate with Scots team, teem (“a chain, harness”), Saterland Frisian Toom (“bridle; breeding”), West Frisian team (“bridle, team”), Dutch toom (“bridle, reins, flock of birds”), German Low German Toom (“bridle”), German Zaum (“bridle”), Norwegian tømme (“bridle, rein”), Swedish töm (“leash, rein”). More at teem, tie, tow.
Senses: examples: text: It happened almost every day that coaches stuck fast, until a team of cattle could be procured from some neighbouring farm to tug them out of the slough.
ref: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter III, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
text: The adjacent alleys were choked with tethered wagons, the teams reversed and nuzzling gnawed corn-ears over the tail-boards.
ref: 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 111:
glosses: A set of draught animals, such as two horses in front of a carriage.
examples: text: We need more volunteers for the netball team.
text: The IT manager leads a team of three software developers.
glosses: Any group of people involved in the same activity, especially sports or work.
examples: text: she will wonder to have a teeme of ducklings about her
ref: 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:
text: a long team of snowy swans on high
ref: 1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
glosses: A group of animals moving together, especially young ducks.
examples: text: TEAM, Theam, Tem, Them. Sax. [from tyman, to propagate, to teem.] In old English law. Literally, an offspring, race or generation. A royalty or privilege granted by royal charter to a lord of a manor, of having, keeping and judging in his court, his bondmen, neifes and villeins, and their offspring or suit. They who had a jurisdiction of this kind, were said to have a court of Theme... constantly used in the old books in connection with toll, in the expression Toll & Team.
ref: 1871, Alexander M. Burrill, Law Dictionary & Glossary, volume II:
topics: law
glosses: A royalty or privilege granted by royal charter to a lord of a manor, of having, keeping, and judging in his court, his bondmen, neifes, and villains, and their offspring, or suit, that is, goods and chattels, and appurtenances thereto.
examples: text: As Jan. 1, 2020, approaches, it turns out there is a Team Zero and a Team 1 – those who believe the new decade will begin after midnight on the upcoming New Year's Eve and those who believe the burgeoning celebrations of a new decade (and all the "last decade" retrospectives) are in fact a year early.
ref: 2019 December 27, Bill Chappell, “People Can't Even Agree On When The Decade Ends”, in NPR:
glosses: A group of people who favor one side of a binary debate that is divided and lacks a well-established clear consensus.
Derived terms: A team
away team
bat for the other team
blue team
B team
bubble team
Cinderella team
country team
crack team
crisis response team
cyberteam
dog team
don't change a winning team
double team
dream team
expansion team
factory team
farm team
fireteam
first team
foreteam
go-team
go team
home team
interteam
intrateam
joint investigation team
kill team
love team
loveteam
Meal Team Six
megateam
multidisciplinary team
multiteam
muncorn team
national sports team
nonteam
oxteam
production team
purple team
quick response team
rapid response team
red team
reserve team
reteam
sales team
satellite team
scout team
scratch team
second team
special team
spike team
street team
strike team
subteam
superteam
tag-team
tag team
take one for the team
teambuilder
team building
team deathmatch
teamer
teamful
team game
Team Human
teamkill
teamless
teamlike
team-mate
teammate
team ministry
teamplay
team player
team pursuit
teamsheet
teamship
team spirit
team sport
teamster
team time trial
team track
team-up
teamwide
teamwise
teamwork
teamworker
teamworking
there's no I in team
tiger team
triple-team
unteam
visiting team
visitor team
webteam
works team