Oakums
kəm noun
loose fiber obtained by untwisting and picking apart old ropes, used for caulking the seams of ships.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To Oakums
Collins
World English Dictionary
oakum (ˈəʊkəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| loose fibre obtained by unravelling old rope, used esp for caulking seams in wooden ships | |
| [Old English ācuma, variant of ācumba, literally: off-combings, from ā- off + -cumba, from cemban to | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Oakums
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
oakum
"loose fiber obtained from taking apart old hemp ropes," 1420s, from O.E. acumba "tow, oakum, flax fibers separated by combing," lit. "what is combed out," from a- "away, out, off" + stem of cemban "to comb," from camb "a comb;" from P.Gmc. *us-kambon, second element from PIE *gembh- "tooth, nail" (see
comb).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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