pram

See also: Pram, PRAM, prám, pråm, prăm, and прам

English

Etymology 1

Clipping of perambulator.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: prăm, IPA^(key): /pɹæm/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm

Noun

pram (plural prams) (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth)

1. A small vehicle, usually covered, in which a newborn baby is pushed around in a lying position.

   Synonyms: perambulator, (US) baby carriage

   Coordinate terms: baby buggy, pushchair, pusher, stroller

   • 1975, Margaret Drabble, The Realms of Gold‎^[1], published 1977, page 127:

     Janet Bird née Ollerenshaw was pushing her pram along Tockley High Street.

   • 2006, Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale‎^[2]:

     For a start the pram was heavier than it appeared, and also they were pulling it along very uneven ground. The edge of the field was slightly banked which tilted the pram at an angle.

   • 2012, Ramsey Campbell, Dark Companions‎^[3], page 233:

     Stepping over her, he unbuttoned the pram′s apron and pulled it back.
     At first he couldn′t make out what the pram contained. He had to crane himself over, holding his body back from the obscuring light. The pram was full of groceries—cabbage, sprouts, potatoes.

   • 2023 August 9, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Family-friendly travel: new standard covers pushchairs”, in RAIL, number 989, page 26:

     The Key Train Requirements document, released in July by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), includes a new clause covering people travelling with pushchairs. It highlights the need for space in carriages for unfolded pushchairs or prams, separate from areas for wheelchairs and cycles. It also recommends extending seat reservations to include pram spaces.

2. (colloquial, loosely) A pushchair; a buggy.

Derived terms

• chuck one's toys out of the pram
• doll's pram
• pram bug
• pram cover
• pram-face
• pram face
• pram hood
• pram suit
• throw one's rattle out of the pram
• throw one's toys out of the pram

 

Translations

perambulator

• Arabic: عَرَبَةْ أَطْفَال f (ʕarabat ʔaṭfāl)
• Armenian: մանկասայլակ (hy) (mankasaylak), կալյասկա (kalyaska) (colloquial)
• Belarusian: каля́ска f (kaljáska), дзіця́чая каля́ска f (dzicjáčaja kaljáska)
• Bulgarian: де́тска коли́чка f (détska kolíčka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 童車 / 童车 (zh) (tóngchē), 嬰兒車 / 婴儿车 (zh) (yīng'érchē)

• Czech: kočárek (cs) m
• Danish: barnevogn (da)
• Dutch: kinderwagen (nl) m
• Esperanto: beboĉaro, beboĉareto, infanĉareto
• Finnish: lastenvaunut (fi) pl
• French: landau (fr) m
• German: Kinderwagen (de) m
• Hungarian: babakocsi (hu)
• Icelandic: barnavagn m
• Irish: naíchóiste m, cóiste linbh m
• Japanese: 乳母車 (ja) (うばぐるま, ubaguruma), ベビーカー (ja) (bebīkā)
• Korean: 유모차(乳母車) (ko) (yumocha)
• Macedonian: ко́личка (mk) f (kólička), де́тска ко́личка f (détska kólička)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хүүхдийн тэрэг (xüüxdiin tereg)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: barnevogn m or f

  Nynorsk: barnevogn f

• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: کالِسْکِه (kâleske)

• Polish: wózek (pl) m, wózek dziecięcy (pl) m
• Portuguese: carrinho de bebé m (Portugal), carrinho de bebê m (Brazil)
• Romanian: cărucior (ro) n
• Russian: коля́ска (ru) f (koljáska), де́тская коля́ска (ru) f (détskaja koljáska)
• Slovak: kočík m
• Spanish: cochecito (de bebé) m, carrito (de bebé) (es) m, carriola f, coche guagua m (Uruguay)
• Swedish: barnvagn (sv) c
• Ukrainian: коля́ска f (koljáska), дитя́ча коля́ска f (dytjáča koljáska)

Etymology 2

The Optimist, a typical modern pram used to train children to sail.

From Dutch praam (“a flat-bottomed boat”), from Middle Dutch praem, from Middle Low German prām, from Old Czech *prám, from Proto-Slavic *pormъ.

Alternative forms

• praam, prahm

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: präm, IPA^(key): /pɹɑːm/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːm

Noun

pram (plural prams)

1. (nautical, historical) A flat-bottomed barge used on shallow shores to convey cargo to and from ships that cannot enter the harbour.
2. (nautical, historical) A similar barge used as platform for cannons in shallow waters which seagoing warships cannot enter.
3. A type of dinghy with a flat bow.
   • August 1979, F. M. Paulson, “Car-topable Craft”, in Field & Stream‎^[4], page 50:

     Although the pram, like the johnboat, has a squared-off bow as well as stern, the bow lines on the pram will be narrower than those encountered on a johnboat.

   • 1994, Dave Hughes, Fly Fishing Basics‎^[5]:

     Nothing can beat the simple pleasure of paddling a pram around on a foggy dawn, probing pad flats, stumps and fallen logs for lurking bass.

Translations

flat-bottomed barge

• Finnish: proomu (fi)
• German: Prahm (de) m
• Ido: pramo (io)
• Portuguese: chata (pt) f
• Russian: плоскодо́нка (ru) f (ploskodónka)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: prama f

type of dinghy

• Finnish: jolla (fi)

Further reading

• pram (baby) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• pram (ship) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• MRAP, parm, ramp

Dutch

Etymology

Deverbal from pramen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prɑm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pram
• Rhymes: -ɑm

Noun

pram m (plural prammen, diminutive prammetje n)

1. (colloquial, vulgar) a boob, a tit

   Synonyms: borst, jetser, mem, tiet

2. (obsolete) a breast of a breastfeeding woman or a teat of a suckling female

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse prámr, from Middle Low German prām, from Old Czech *prám, from Proto-Slavic *pormъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prɑmː/

Noun

pram m (definite singular prammen, indefinite plural prammar, definite plural prammane)

1. a rowboat without a keel, a pram
2. a barge

References

• “pram” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *pormъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prâm/
• Hyphenation: pram

Noun

prȁm m (Cyrillic spelling пра̏м)

1. (historical, seafaring) ferry

Declension

Declension of pram

	singular	plural
nominative	pram	pramovi
genitive	prama	pramova
dative	pramu	pramovima
accusative	pram	pramove
vocative	prame	pramovi
locative	pramu	pramovima
instrumental	pramom	pramovima

Further reading

• “pram”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Etymology 2

From prȁmēn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prâːm/

Noun

prȃm m (Cyrillic spelling пра̑м)

1. lock, tuft

Declension

Declension of pram

	singular	plural
nominative	pram	prami
genitive	prama	prama
dative	pramu	pramima
accusative	pram	prame
vocative	prame	prami
locative	pramu	pramima
instrumental	pramom	pramima

Further reading

• “pram”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024