2 entries under this word
Rhē'um (rē'um), n. [From Rha, the ancient name of the Volga, on the banks of which it grows. Loudon.] (Bot.) A genus of plants, the fleshy, acid stalks of some species of which are used in cookery, while the roots of other species afford a valuable cathartic medicine; rhubarb.
(rum), n. [Gr. ῥεῦμα, from ῥεῖν, to flow; Lat. rheuma, It. reuma, rema, Sp. reuma, Pr. reuma, rauma, Fr. rhume.] 1. An increased action of the excretory vessels of any organ;—applied especially to the increased action of the mucous membrane, attended with increased discharge and an altered state of the excreted fluids. I have a rheum in my eyes too. Shak. 2. A thin, serous fluid, secreted by the mucous glands, &c., as in catarrh.