n. [ F. crême, perh. fr. LL. crema cream of milk; cf. L. cremor thick juice or broth, perh. akin to cremare to burn. ] 1. The rich, oily, and yellowish part of milk, which, when the milk stands unagitated, rises, and collects on the surface. It is the part of milk from which butter is obtained. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The part of any liquor that rises, and collects on the surface. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A delicacy of several kinds prepared for the table from cream, etc., or so as to resemble cream. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A cosmetic; a creamlike medicinal preparation. [ 1913 Webster ]

In vain she tries her paste and creams,
To smooth her skin or hide its seams. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The best or choicest part of a thing; the quintessence; as, the cream of a jest or story; the cream of a collection of books or pictures. [ 1913 Webster ]

Welcome, O flower and cream of knights errant. Shelton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bavarian cream, a preparation of gelatin, cream, sugar, and eggs, whipped; -- to be eaten cold. --
Cold cream, an ointment made of white wax, almond oil, rose water, and borax, and used as a salve for the hands and lips. --
Cream cheese, a kind of cheese made from curd from which the cream has not been taken off, or to which cream has been added. --
Cream gauge, an instrument to test milk, being usually a graduated glass tube in which the milk is placed for the cream to rise. --
Cream nut, the Brazil nut. --
Cream of lime. (a) A scum of calcium carbonate which forms on a solution of milk of lime from the carbon dioxide of the air. (b) A thick creamy emulsion of lime in water. --
Cream of tartar (Chem.), purified tartar or argol; so called because of the crust of crystals which forms on the surface of the liquor in the process of purification by recrystallization. It is a white crystalline substance, with a gritty acid taste, and is used very largely as an ingredient of baking powders; -- called also potassium bitartrate, acid potassium tartrate, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Creamed p. pr. & vb. n. Creaming. ] 1. To skim, or take off by skimming, as cream. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To take off the best or choicest part of. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To furnish with, or as with, cream. [ 1913 Webster ]

Creaming the fragrant cups. Mrs. Whitney. [ 1913 Webster ]

To cream butter (Cooking), to rub, stir, or beat, butter till it is of a light creamy consistency. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To form or become covered with cream; to become thick like cream; to assume the appearance of cream; hence, to grow stiff or formal; to mantle. [ 1913 Webster ]

There are a sort of men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pool. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Cookery) A kind of cake filled with custard made of cream, eggs, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of the color of cream; light yellow. “Cream-colored horses.” Hazlitt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a California plant (Platystemon californicus) with small pale yellow flowers.
Syn. -- Platystemon californicus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a small pitcher for serving cream; as, the coffee set included a sugar bowl and creamer.
Syn. -- cream pitcher. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n.; pl. Creameries [ CF. F. cr&unr_;meric. ] 1. A place where butter and cheese are made, or where milk and cream are put up in cans for market. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A place or apparatus in which milk is set for raising cream. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An establishment where cream is sold. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. White or pale, as the effect of fear, or as the natural complexion. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou cream-faced loon. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A plant of Sierra Leone which yields a wholesome, creamy juice. [ 1913 Webster ]