cream (English)

Where does "cream" come from?

The English word 'cream' descended from Middle English 'creime' or 'creme'[1][9]. This term emerged in Old French as 'creme' or 'cresme'[1], a blend of two distinct sources: the Late Latin 'chrisma' meaning 'ointment' from the Ancient Greek 'khrîsma' meaning 'unguent'[1][4], and the Late Latin 'crāmum' meaning 'cream'[1][7]. This latter term is likely borrowed from the Gaulish 'crama', which stems from the Proto-Indo-European root '*(s)krama-'[1][2]. In the English language, this term eventually displaced the native Old English word 'rēam'[1]. The word is a doublet of 'crema' and 'crème'[1].

Open questions

• The derivation of Late Latin 'crāmum' from Gaulish 'crama' remains a likely proposal rather than a strictly documented transition. [2]
• The Proto-Indo-European root for the cream sense is reconstructed as '*(s)krama-' while the root for the ointment sense is '*(s)gʰrey-', representing two distinct etymological strands combined into one word. [1] [5] [6]

Full etymology tree

• cream (English), 'Cream-coloured; having a yellowish white colour.'
  • inherited creime (Middle English)
    • blend chrisma (Latin), 'anointing, unction'
      • inherited χρῖσμα (khrîsma) (Ancient Greek), 'anointing, unction'
        • derived χρίω (khríō) (Ancient Greek), 'to smear with [with dative ‘something’], rub [with dative ‘something’] on something; to anoint with olive oil'
          • inherited *gʰrey(H)- (Proto-Indo-European)
            • derived *gʰer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to yearn for'
    • blend cramum (Latin), 'cream'
      • inherited *crama (Gaulish)
        • inherited *krammen (Proto-Celtic)
          • inherited *(s)krama- (Proto-Indo-European)
  • inherited creme (Middle English), 'chrism (mixture of oil and balsam)'
    • blend chrisma (Latin), 'anointing, unction'
      • inherited χρῖσμα (khrîsma) (Ancient Greek), 'anointing, unction'
        • derived χρίω (khríō) (Ancient Greek), 'to smear with [with dative ‘something’], rub [with dative ‘something’] on something; to anoint with olive oil'
          • inherited *gʰrey(H)- (Proto-Indo-European)
            • derived *gʰer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to yearn for'
    • blend cramum (Latin), 'cream'
      • inherited *crama (Gaulish)
        • inherited *krammen (Proto-Celtic)
          • inherited *(s)krama- (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• *gʰrey- (Proto-Indo-European)
• chrisma (Latin)
• χρῖσμα (Ancient Greek)
• cramum (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• schram (Dutch)
• crema (English)
• crème (English)
• ream (Old English)
• cramen (Welsh)

Sources

1. cream (English) - Wiktionary
2. cramum (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. χρῖσμα (khrîsma) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
4. chrisma (Latin) - Wiktionary
5. gʰrey- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
6. χρίω (khríō) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
7. cresme (Old French) - Wiktionary
8. ream (Old English) - Wiktionary
9. creme (Middle English) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris