cement

See also: Cement and cément

English[edit]

WOTD – 17 May 2016

English Wikipedia has an article on:

cement

Wikipedia

Workers in Iraq using a cement mixer to make cement (sense 2)

Bags of cement (sense 1) used for building construction in Tunisia

Footprints and graffiti in freshly laid cement (sense 2) in London, United Kingdom

Alternative forms[edit]

caement (archaic)
cæment (archaic)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English syment, cyment, from Old French ciment, from Latin caementum (“quarry stone; stone chips for making mortar”), from caedō (“I cut, hew”). Doublet of cementum.

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /səˈmɛnt/
Audio (file)
(Southern American English) IPA^(key): /ˈsimɛnt/
Audio (AU) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛnt
Hyphenation: ce‧ment

Noun[edit]

cement (countable and uncountable, plural cements)

(countable, uncountable) A powdered substance produced by firing (calcining) calcium carbonate (limestone) and clay that develops strong cohesive properties when mixed with water. The main ingredient of concrete.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp, London; New York, NY.: Cassell, OCLC 4293073, OL 1097634W:
  In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.
(uncountable) The paste-like substance resulting from mixing such a powder with water, or the rock-like substance that forms when it dries.
(uncountable) Any material with strong adhesive and cohesive properties such as binding agents, glues, grout.
(figuratively) A bond of union; that which unites firmly, as persons in friendship or in society.
the cement of our love
(anatomy) The layer of bone investing the root and neck of a tooth; cementum.

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

→ Arabic: أَسْمَنْت‎ (ʾasmant)
→ Fiji Hindi: simit
→ Irish: suimint
→ Japanese: セメント (semento)
→ Korean: 시멘트 (simenteu)
→ Malay: simen
→ Punjabi: ਸੀਮਿੰਟ (sīmiṇṭ)
→ Swahili: simiti, sementi
→ Thai: ซีเมนต์ (sii-men)
→ Welsh: sment

Translations[edit]

a powdered substance

Afrikaans: sement
Albanian: çimento (sq) m
Amharic: ሲሚንቶ (siminto)
Arabic: أَسْمَنْت‎ m (ʾasmant)
Egyptian Arabic: اسمنت‎ m (esmant, asmant)
Armenian: ցեմենտ (hy) (cʿement)
Azerbaijani: sement
Basque: zemento, porlan
Belarusian: цэме́нт (be) m (cemjént)
Bengali: সিমেন্ট (śimenṭ)
Bulgarian: циме́нт m (cimént)
Burmese: အင်္ဂတေ (my) (angga.te)
Catalan: ciment (ca)
Cherokee: ᏅᏯᎠᏰᏍᏓᎥ (nvyaayesdav)
Chichewa: simenti
Chinese:
Cantonese: 紅毛泥, 红毛泥 (hung⁴ mou⁴ nai⁴), 水泥 (seoi² nai⁴)

Mandarin: 水泥 (zh) (shuǐní), 洋灰 (zh) (yánghuī), 士敏土 (zh) (shìmǐntǔ)
Cornish: lim m
Czech: cement (cs) m
Danish: cement (da)
Dutch: cement (nl) n
Estonian: tsement
Faroese: sement n
Finnish: sementti (fi)
French: ciment (fr)
Galician: cemento (gl)
Georgian: ცემენტი (cemenṭi)
German: Zement (de) m
Greek: τσιμέντο (el) n (tsiménto)
Haitian Creole: siman
Hebrew: צֶמֶנְט‎ (he)
Hindi: सीमेंट (hi) m (sīmeṇṭ)
Hungarian: cement (hu)
Hunsrik: Siment m
Icelandic: sement n
Indonesian: semen (id)
Ingrian: tsementta
Irish: stroighin f, suimint f
Italian: cemento (it) m
Japanese: セメント (semento)
Kazakh: цемент (kk) (cement)
Khmer: ស៊ីម៉ងត៍ (km) (siimɑɑng)

Korean: 시멘트 (ko) (simenteu)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: چەمەنتۆ‎ (çemento)
Kyrgyz: цемент (ky) (tsement)
Lao: ຊີມັງ (lo) (sī mang)
Latin: ferrūmen n, caementum n
Latvian: cements m
Lithuanian: cementas m
Macedonian: цемент m (cement)
Malagasy: simenitra
Malay: simen
Maltese: simenta f
Maori: raima
Mongolian: цемент (mn) (tsement)
Norman: chînment m (Jersey)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sement m
Persian: سیمان‎ (fa) (simân)
Plautdietsch: Zemment m
Polish: cement (pl) m
Portuguese: cimento (pt) m
Punjabi: ਸੀਮਿੰਟ (pa) m (sīmiṇṭ)
Romanian: ciment (ro)
Russian: цеме́нт (ru) m (cemént)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: цѐмент m

Roman: cèment (sh) m
Sinhalese: සිමෙන්ති (simenti)
Slovak: cement (sk) m
Slovene: cement (sl) m
Spanish: cemento (es) m
Swahili: simiti (sw), sementi
Tagalog: semento
Tajik: семент (sement)
Tamil: சிமிட்டி (ta) (cimiṭṭi), பைஞ்சுதை (ta) (paiñcutai)
Thai: ซีเมนต์ (th) (sii-men)
Turkish: çimento (tr)
Turkmen: sement
Ukrainian: цеме́нт (uk) m (cemént)
Urdu: سیمنٹ‎ m (sīmeṇṭ)
Uzbek: tsement
Vietnamese: xi măng (vi)
Welsh: sment m
Yiddish: צעמענט‎ (tsement)

the paste-like substance

Arabic: أَسْمَنْت‎ m (ʾasmant)
Armenian: ցեմենտ (hy) (cʿement)
Bulgarian: цимент m (ciment)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 紅毛泥, 红毛泥 (hung⁴ mou⁴ nai⁴), 水泥 (seoi² nai⁴)

Mandarin: 水泥 (zh) (shuǐní)
Cornish: lim m
Czech: cement (cs) m
Danish: cement (da)
Dutch: cement (nl) n
Faroese: sement n
Finnish: sementti (fi)
French: ciment (fr) m
German: Zementleim f, Zementmörtel m, Zementmasse f, Mörtel (de) m
Greek:
Ancient: λιθόκολλα f (lithókolla)
Indonesian: semen (id)
Irish: stroighin f, suimint f
Italian: adesivo (it)
Japanese: セメント (semento)

Korean: 시멘트 (ko) (simenteu)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: چەمەنتۆ‎ (çemento)
Lao: please add this translation if you can
Latin: caementum
Mongolian: цемент (mn) (tsement)
Norman: chînment m
Persian: ملات‎ (malât)
Polish: cement (pl) m
Portuguese: cimento (pt) m
Russian: цеме́нт (ru) m (cemént)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: цѐмент m

Roman: cèment (sh) m
Spanish: pegamento (es)
Swahili: simiti (sw), sementi
Vietnamese: xi măng (vi)
Welsh: sment m

any material with strong adhesive and cohesive properties

Finnish: liima (fi)
French: colle (fr) f, adhésif (fr) m
German: Zement (de) m, Bindemittel (de) n, Klebstoff (de) f, Kleber (de) m, Klebelösung f, Kitt (de) f
Italian: adesivo (it)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: چەمەنتۆ‎ (çemento)

Portuguese: cimento (pt) m
Spanish: pegamento (es)
Swahili: simiti (sw)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Ido: ^{(please verify)} cemento (io)
Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} cemento

Volapük: ^{(please verify)} zäm (vo)

Verb[edit]

cement (third-person singular simple present cements, present participle cementing, simple past and past participle cemented)

(transitive) To affix with cement.
(transitive) To overlay or coat with cement.
to cement a cellar floor
(transitive, figuratively) To unite firmly or closely.
- c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene i]:
  For they have entertained cause enough
  To draw their swords: but how the fear of us
  May cement their divisions and bind up
  The petty difference, we yet not know.
- 1840, John Dunlop, The Universal Tendency to Association in Mankind. Analyzed and Illustrated, London: Houlston and Stoneman, page 103:
  Olympic Games. — Besides the ordinary confederacies that join independent states together, a singular federal bond is remarkable in the Olympic games, which for many ages cemented the Grecian commonwealths by a joint tie of recreation and religious ritual.
(figuratively) To make permanent.
- 1758, David Hume, “Essay XXII. Of Polygamy and Divorces.”, in Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects, new edition, London: Printed for A[ndrew] Millar, in the Strand; and A. Kincaid and A. Donaldson, at Edinburgh, OCLC 912916757, page 115:
  But friendſhip is a calm and ſedate affection, conducted by reaſon and cemented by habit; ſpringing from long acquaintance and mutual obligations; without jealouſies or fears; and without thoſe feveriſh fits of heat and cold, which cauſe ſuch an agreeable torment in the amorous paſſion.
- 2016 March 27, Daniel Taylor, “Eric Dier seals England’s stunning comeback against Germany”, in The Guardian‎^[1], London, archived from the original on 22 April 2016:
  [Dele] Alli’s ability to break forward from midfield was a prominent feature and the 19-year-old must have gone a long way to cementing his place in the team.

Translations[edit]

to affix with cement

Arabic: سَمْنَتَ‎ (samnata)
Bulgarian: циментирам (cimentiram)
Danish: cementere
German: zementieren (de)
Irish: stroighnigh, suimintigh, táthaigh
Italian: cementare (it)
Mongolian: цементлэх (mn) (tsementlekh)

Portuguese: cimentar (pt)
Russian: цементи́ровать (ru) impf (cementírovatʹ)
Swahili: simiti (sw)
Swedish: cementera (sv)
Welsh: smentio
Yiddish: צוקלעפּן‎ (tsuklepn)

to make permanent

Danish: cementere
German: zementieren (de)
Italian: cementare (it), consolidare (it)
Japanese: 固く結ぶ (かたくむすぶ, kataku musubu)

Portuguese: cimentar (pt), consolidar (pt), firmar (pt)
Swahili: simiti (sw)
Swedish: cementera (sv)
Welsh: cadarnhau (cy), cryfhau (cy)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

French: ^{(please verify)} cimenter (fr)
Ido: ^{(please verify)} cementagar (io)
Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} cementar

Spanish: ^{(please verify)} cementar (es)
Volapük: ^{(please verify)} zämön (vo)

Czech[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sɛmɛnt]

Noun[edit]

cement m

cement

Danish[edit]

Noun[edit]

cement c

cement

Related terms[edit]

cementblandar