I have often rummaged for old books in Little Britain
and Duck Lane. --Swift.
[1913 Webster]
[His house] was haunted with a jolly ghost, that . . . . . . rummaged like a rat. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
Rummage — Rum mage (?; 48), n. [For roomage, fr. room; hence originally, a making room, a packing away closely. See {Room}.] 1. (Naut.) A place or room for the stowage of cargo in a ship; also, the act of stowing cargo; the pulling and moving about of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
rummage — (v.) 1520s, act of arranging cargo in a ship, aphetic of M.Fr. arrumage arrangement of cargo, from arrumer to stow goods in the hold of a ship, from a to + rumer, probably from Germanic (Cf. O.N. rum compartment in a ship, O.H.G. rum space, O.E.… … Etymology dictionary
Rummage — Rum mage, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Rummaged}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Rummaging}.] 1. (Naut.) To make room in, as a ship, for the cargo; to move about, as packages, ballast, so as to permit close stowage; to stow closely; to pack; formerly written {roomage} … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
rummage — index delve Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
rummage — comb, ransack, search, hunt, *seek, scour, ferret out Analogous words: examine, inspect, *scrutinize … New Dictionary of Synonyms
rummage — [v] ransack, search beat the bushes*, comb, delve, dig out, disarrange, disarray, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, examine, explore, ferret out, fish, forage, grub, hunt, jumble, leave no stone unturned*, look high and low*, mess up, mix… … New thesaurus
rummage — ► VERB ▪ search unsystematically and untidily for something. ► NOUN ▪ an act of rummaging. ORIGIN originally referring to the arranging of items in the hold of a ship: from Old French arrumer stow in a hold … English terms dictionary
rummage — [rum′ij] n. [aphetic < MFr arrumage < arrumer, to stow cargo in the hold < aruner, to arrange < run, rum, ship s hold < Frank * rum, akin to OE rum,ROOM] 1. miscellaneous articles; odds and ends 2. a rummaging, or thorough search… … English World dictionary
rummage — [[t]rʌ̱mɪʤ[/t]] rummages, rummaging, rummaged 1) VERB If you rummage through something, you search for something you want by moving things around in a careless or hurried way. [V prep] They rummage through piles of second hand clothes for… … English dictionary
rummage — I UK [ˈrʌmɪdʒ] / US verb [intransitive] Word forms rummage : present tense I/you/we/they rummage he/she/it rummages present participle rummaging past tense rummaged past participle rummaged to search for something among a lot of other things… … English dictionary
