cream (English)

Where does "cream" come from?

The English word 'cream' comes from Middle English 'creime' and 'creme'[1]. This developed from Old French 'creme' and 'cresme', which formed as a blend of Late Latin 'crāmum' meaning 'cream' and Late Latin 'chrisma' meaning 'ointment'[1][8]. The Late Latin term 'crāmum' likely derives from Gaulish '*crama', rooted in Proto-Indo-European '[*](s)krama-'[1][2]. Along its history, this term displaced the native Old English word 'rēam'[1].

Open questions

The derivation of Late Latin crāmum from Gaulish *crama is considered likely rather than certain. [2]

Full etymology tree

cream (English), 'The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.'
- inherited creime (Middle English)
  - inherited creme (Old French)
    - 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'
      - borrowed *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)

Descendants and derived words

忌廉 (Chinese)
淇淋 (Chinese)
barrier cream (English)
Bavarian cream (English)
BB cream (English)
beard cream (English)
Boston cream (English)
Boston cream donut (English)
Boston cream pie (English)
bourbon cream (English)
burnt cream (English)
butter cream (English)

Sources

Updated September 2026

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