Rummage

Rummage
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}, and {romage}. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

They might bring away a great deal more than they do, if they would take pain in the romaging. --Hakluyt. [1913 Webster]

2. To search or examine thoroughly by looking into every corner, and turning over or removing goods or other things; to examine, as a book, carefully, turning over leaf after leaf. [1913 Webster]

He . . . searcheth his pockets, and taketh his keys, and so rummageth all his closets and trunks. --Howell. [1913 Webster]

What schoolboy of us has not rummaged his Greek dictionary in vain for a satisfactory account! --M. Arnold. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • 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. i. To search a place narrowly. [1913 Webster] 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.… …   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

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