team

• IPA^(key): /tiːm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: teem
• Rhymes: -iːm

From Middle English tem, teem, teme, from Old English tēam (“child-bearing, offspring, brood, set of draught animals”), from Proto-West Germanic *taum, from Proto-Germanic *taumaz (“that which draws or pulls”), from Proto-Germanic *taugijaną, *tugōną, *teuhōną, *teuhaną (“to lead, bring, pull, draw”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull, lead”).

Cognate with Scots team, teem (“a chain, harness”), West Frisian team (“bridle, team”), Dutch toom (“bridle, reins, flock of birds”), German Zaum (“bridle”), Norwegian tømme (“bridle, rein”), Swedish töm (“leash, rein”). More at teem, tie, tow.

team (plural teams)

1. A set of draught animals, such as two horses in front of a carriage.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 3, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     It happened almost every day that coaches stuck fast, until a team of cattle could be procured from some neighbouring farm to tug them out of the slough.

   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage, published 1993, page 111:

     The adjacent alleys were choked with tethered wagons, the teams reversed and nuzzling gnawed corn-ears over the tail-boards.

2. Any group of people involved in the same activity, especially sports or work.

   We need more volunteers for the netball team.

   The IT manager leads a team of three software developers.

3. (obsolete) A group of animals moving together, especially young ducks.
   • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, →OCLC:

     she will wonder to have a teeme of ducklings about her

   • 1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     a long team of snowy swans on high

4. (UK, law, obsolete) A royalty or privilege granted by royal charter to a lord of a manor, of having, keeping, and judging in his court, his bondmen, neifes, and villains, and their offspring, or suit, that is, goods and chattels, and appurtenances thereto.
   • 1871, Alexander M. Burrill, Law Dictioary & Glossary‎, volume II:

     TEAM, Theam, Tem, Them. Sax. [from tyman, to propagate, to teem.] In old English law. Literally, an offspring, race or generation. A royalty or privilege granted by royal charter to a lord of a manor, of having, keeping and judging in his court, his bondmen, neifes and villeins, and their offspring or suit. They who had a jurisdiction of this kind, were said to have a court of Theme... constantly used in the old books in connection with toll, in the expression Toll & Team.

5. A group of people who favor one side of a binary debate that is divided and lacks a well-established clear consensus.
   • 2019 December 27, Bill Chappell, “People Can't Even Agree On When The Decade Ends”, in NPR‎:

     As Jan. 1, 2020, approaches, it turns out there is a Team Zero and a Team 1 – those who believe the new decade will begin after midnight on the upcoming New Year's Eve and those who believe the burgeoning celebrations of a new decade (and all the "last decade" retrospectives) are in fact a year early.

• In British English, team is construed as plural, emphasizing the members. In US English it is construed as singular, emphasizing the group. This conforms to the general practice in the two dialects for collective nouns.
  • British English:
    2012, Institute of Leadership & Management, Building the Team‎, page 124:

    At the storming stage, the team are trying to establish relationships with one another, and to determine who will take the dominant roles.

  • American English:
    2010, William G. Dyer, W. Gibb Dyer, Jr., Jeffrey H. Dyer, Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance‎:

    When a subordinate wants to give feedback to a boss, this is typically only done in a roundabout way through the “grapevine” (other members of the team), usually when the team is out at night drinking.

team (third-person singular simple present teams, present participle teaming, simple past and past participle teamed)

1. (intransitive) To form a group, as for sports or work.

   Synonym: team up

   They teamed to complete the project.

2. (intransitive, by extension) To go together well; to harmonize.
   • 2005, Jill Dupleix, Good Cooking: The New Basics, page 32:

     Rich, creamy avocado is cut back by the citrus sharpness of grapefruit in this Israeli-inspired salad. It's brilliant for a brunchy breakfast, and teams well with grilled salmon, tuna, or mackerel for dinner.

3. (transitive) To convey or haul with a team.

   to team lumber

   • 1857, Henry David Thoreau journal entry for Feb. 4 1857

     the farmer has been all winter teaming wood along the river

4. (transitive) To form together into a team.

   to team oxen

5. (transitive) To give work to a gang under a subcontractor.

• double-team
• team up
• team up with

team

1. Misspelling of teem.

• AEMT, ATEM, Atem, META, Meta, Tame, Tema, mate, maté, meat, meta, meta-, tame

From English team.

team

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) a group of people working in cooperation and involved in the same activity (Classifier: 條／条 c)

team

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) Classifier for teams of people.

Borrowed from English team, from Middle English teme, from Old English tēam (“child-bearing, offspring, brood, set of draught animals”), from Proto-West Germanic *taum, from Proto-Germanic *taumaz (“that which draws or pulls”), from Proto-Germanic *taugijaną, *tugōną, *teuhōną, *teuhaną (“to lead, bring, pull, draw”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull, lead”).

Doublet with native Dutch toom.

• IPA^(key): /tiːm/

• Audio

  (file)

team n (plural teams, diminutive teampje n)

1. team (group of people)

   Synonym: ploeg

• fabrieksteam
• onderzoeksteam
• teamgeest
• teambuilding

Unadapted borrowing from English team.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtim/
• Rhymes: -im

team m (invariable)

1. team (group of people)

   Synonyms: squadra, gruppo

• Meta, mate, matè, meta, meta-, metà, tema

team

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of tem (“group”)

From English team.

team n (definite singular teamet, indefinite plural team, definite plural teama or teamene)

1. a team

• lag

• teamarbeid

• “team” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From English team.

team n (definite singular teamet, indefinite plural team, definite plural teama)

1. a team

• lag

• teamarbeid

• “team” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-West Germanic *taum, from Proto-Germanic *taumaz (“pull, draw”).

• IPA^(key): /tæ͜ɑːm/

tēam m (nominative plural tēamas)

1. childbirth
2. family, offspring
3. a team of draught animals
4. an Anglo-Saxon legal procedure in a stolen goods suit

• tīeman

• Middle English: tem, teem, teeme, teme, teome, them, theam; tæm, team
  • English: team (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: team

Unadapted borrowing from English team, from Middle English teme, from Old English tēam, from Proto-West Germanic *taum, from Proto-Germanic *taumaz, from Proto-Germanic *taugijaną, *tugōną, *teuhōną, *teuhaną, from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-.

• IPA^(key): /tim/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -im
• Syllabification: team

team m inan

1. team (well-coordinated group of people working together)
2. (sports) team

   Synonym: drużyna

• team in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• team in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Unadapted borrowing from English team.

team n (uncountable)

1. team (sports)

From English team.

• IPA^(key): /tiːm/
• Rhymes: -iːm

team n

1. a team (at a job, or more generally)

• lag

• arbetslag

• team in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• team in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• team in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• meta, tame, tema

From Old Frisian tām, from Proto-West Germanic *taum, from Proto-Germanic *taumaz.

team c (plural teammen, diminutive teamke)

1. bridle

• “team (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Borrowed from English team.

team n (plural teams, diminutive teamke)

1. team

   Synonym: ploech

   Sirkulaasjefollybal is in fariant op it gewoane follybal, mei 4 spilers yn elts team.

   Mini-volleyball is a variation of normal volleyball, with 4 players on each team.

• teamwurk