oakum
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English okome, from Old English ācumba (“oakum”, literally “that which has been combed out, off-combings”), a derivative of ācemban (“to comb out”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- + *kambijanan (“to comb”), from Proto-Indo-European *uds-, *ūd- (“out”) + Proto-Indo-European *ǵombʰ-, *ǵembʰ- (“tooth, nail; to pierce, gnaw through”). More at out, comb.
[edit] Noun
oakum (uncountable)
- A material, consisting of tarred fibres, used to caulk or pack joints in plumbing, masonry, and wooden shipbuilding.
