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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.
3.
clamminess.
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 lollygag. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
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Verb phrase
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

Related forms
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.
Cite This Source Link To clam
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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