clam

[klam] Origin

clam

1[klam] noun, verb, clammed, clam·ming.
noun
1.
any of various bivalve mollusks, especially certain edible species. Compare quahog, soft-shell clam.
2.
Informal. a secretive or silent person.
4.
Slang. a dollar or the sum of a dollar: I only made 60 clams a week.
verb (used without object)
5.
to gather or dig clams.

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Clam is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
6.
clam up, Slang. to refuse to talk or reply; refrain from talking or divulging information: The teacher asked who had thrown the eraser, but the class clammed up.

Origin:
1585–95; short for clam-shell, i.e., bivalve with a shell that clamps. See clam2, shell

clam·like, adjective
clam·mer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged

clam

2[klam]
noun
1.
British Dialect. clamp1 (defs. 1–3).
2.
Machinery. (formerly) pincers.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English, derivative of clamm fetter, grasp; cognate with German Klamm fetter; akin to clamp
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
clam1 (klæm)
 
n
1.  any of various burrowing bivalve molluscs of the genera Mya, Venus, etc. Many species, such as the quahog and soft-shell clam, are edible and Tridacna gigas is the largest known bivalve, nearly 1.5 metres long
2.  the edible flesh of such a mollusc
3.  informal a reticent person
 
vb , clams, clamming, clammed
4.  chiefly (US) (intr) to gather clams
 
[C16: from earlier clamshell, that is, shell that clamps; related to Old English clamm fetter, Old High German klamma constriction; see clamp1]

clam2 (klæm)
 
vb , clams, clamming, clammed
a variant of clem

clem or clam (klɛm)
 
vb , clems, clemming, clemmed, clams, clamming, clammed
dialect (English) (when tr, usually passive) to be hungry or cause to be hungry
 
[C16: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch, German klemmen to pinch, cramp; compare Old English beclemman to shut in]
 
clam or clam
 
vb
 
[C16: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch, German klemmen to pinch, cramp; compare Old English beclemman to shut in]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

clam
c.1500, "bivalve mollusk," originally Scottish, from M.E. clam "pincers, vice, clamp," from O.E. clamm "bond, fetter," from P.Gmc. *klam-. Clambake is from 1835. Clam up is 1916, Amer.Eng., but clam was used in this sense as an interjection c.1350.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

clam definition


  1. n.
    a dollar. (Underworld.) : You got a couple of clams I can bum for a little bottle?
  2. n.
    a tight-lipped person. : Suddenly, she became a clam and wouldn't talk anymore.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

CLAM definition

mathematics, tool
A system for symbolic mathematics, especially General Relativity. It was first implemented in ATLAS assembly language and later Lisp.
See also ALAM.
["CLAM Programmer's Manual", Ray d'Inverno & Russell-Clark, King's College London, 1971].
(1994-11-08)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

clam

In addition to the idiom beginning with clam, also see happy as the day is long (as a clam).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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