dam

See also: Dam, dám, đảm, and da̰m

Translingual

Wikipedia

Symbol

dam

1. (metrology) Symbol for the decameter (decametre), an SI unit of length equal to 10¹ meters (metres).

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English

Wikipedia

A dam

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /dæm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm
• Homophone: damn

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch, Middle Low German dam, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

1. A structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow.

   A dam is often an essential source of water to farmers of hilly country.

   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, Lord Stranleigh Abroad^[1]:

     Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins … .

   • 2013 August 16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8: 

     Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.

2. (dentistry) A device to prevent a tooth from getting wet, consisting of a rubber sheet held with a band.
3. (South Africa) A reservoir.
4. A firebrick wall, or a stone, which forms the front of the hearth of a blast furnace.
5. (India) An obsolete Indian copper coin, equal to a fortieth of a rupee.
   • 1839, William Holloway (of Rye, in Sussex.), A general dictionary of provincialisms:

     ...A small Indian coin; whence comes the saying "I don't care a dam for you," that is I don't value you a farthing, and not as generally given, "I don't care a damn" or a "curse for you.

Translations

structure placed across a flowing body of water

• Arabic: سد m (sadd)
• Armenian: ամբարտակ (ambartak)
• Bengali: বাঁধ (bãdh)
• Bulgarian: бент (bg) m (bent)
• Chakma: 𑄉𑄧𑄙 (gadā)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 壩 (zh), 坝 (zh) (bà), 水壩 (zh), 水坝 (zh) (shuǐbà)

• Czech: hráz (cs) f, přehrada (cs) f
• Dutch: dam (nl) m
• Estonian: pais
• Finnish: pato (fi)
• French: barrage (fr) m
• Georgian: კაშხალი (kašxali), ჯებირი (ǰebiri), დამბა (damba)
• German: Damm (de) m
• Greek: φράγμα (el) n (frágma)
• Hebrew: סכר (he) m
• Hungarian: gát (hu)
• Ido: aquobarilo (io)

• Italian: argine (it) m, diga (it)
• Japanese: ダム (ja) (damu)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: به‌ربه‌ست (ku)

• Malay: empang, empangan, pengempang, ampang, bendung, bendungan, pembendung, tebat, tambak, tandup, alahan
• Maltese: diga
• Maori: matatara, pāwai
• Navajo: dáʼdeestłʼin, tó beʼekʼid
• Polish: tama (pl) f
• Portuguese: barragem (pt) f, represa (pt) f
• Romanian: baraj (ro) n
• Russian: плотина (ru) f (plotína), дамба (ru) f (dámba)
• Serbo-Croatian: nasip, brana, gat
• Spanish: presa (es) f
• Tamil: அணை (ta) (aṇai)
• Telugu: ఆనకట్ట (te) (ānakaṭṭa)
• Turkish: baraj (tr), set (tr)

Verb

dam (third-person singular simple present dams, present participle damming, simple past and past participle dammed)

1. To block the flow of water.

Translations

block

• Bulgarian: заприщвам (bg) (zaprištvam)
• Finnish: padota (fi)
• German: stauen (de), abdämmen (de), absperren

• Italian: imbrigliare
• Maori: pāpuni, puni
• Spanish: embalsar

See also

• Dam on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

Variant of dame.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

1. Female parent, mother, generally regarding breeding of animals (correlative to sire).
   • Shakespeare

     The dam runs lowing up and down, / Looking the way her harmless young one went.

   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:

     Hunters assure us, that to chuse the best dog, and which they purpose to keepe from out a litter of other young whelps, there is no better meane than the damme herselfe [...].

   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I:

     she / Resolved that Juan should be quite a paragon, / And worthy of the noblest pedigree / (His sire was from Castile, his dam from Aragon) [...].

   • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber 1992, p. 112:

     The sky was cloudless – the moon rolled across the surface like a lamb searching for its dam.

2. A kind of crowned piece in the game of draughts.

Translations

female parent

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 母畜 (zh), 母兽

• Finnish: emä (fi)
• German: Muttertier (de)

• Japanese: メス (ja) (mesu), (for Bovidae) 牝 (ja) (めす, mesu), (for except of Bovidae) 雌 (ja) (めす, mesu)
• Latin: mātrix (la) f
• Malay: induk betina

Anagrams

• adm. AMD, DMA, mad, MAD

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Crimean Tatar

Noun

dam

1. stable
2. roof
3. taste

Declension

Declension of dam

nominative	dam
genitive	damnıñ
dative	damğa
accusative	damnı
locative	damda
ablative	damdan

Synonyms

• aran (stable)
• lezet, nezet, tat, dad (taste)

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Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse dammr (“dam”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite damme)

1. pond

Derived terms

• dambrug n

Inflection

Inflection of dam

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dam	dammen	damme	dammene
genitive	dams	dammens	dammes	dammenes

Etymology 2

From French jeu de dames (“draughts”).

Noun

dam c, n

1. draughts, checkers

Etymology 3

From French dame (“lady”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite dammer)

1. king (superior piece in draughts)

Inflection

Inflection of dam

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dam	dammen	dammer	dammerne
genitive	dams	dammens	dammers	dammernes

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Dutch

Wikipedia ^nl

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑm

Noun

dam m (plural dammen, diminutive dammetje n)

1. dam

Derived terms

• stuwdam
• Amsterdam
• Rotterdam

Verb

dam

1. first-person singular present indicative of dammen
2. imperative of dammen

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French

Etymology

From Latin damnum.

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

1. (obsolete except in phrases) damage

Derived terms

• au grand dam de

Related terms

• dommage

Anagrams

• AMD

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin damnum.

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

1. damage

Synonyms

• daneç

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Lojban

Rafsi

dam

1. rafsi of danmo.

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Maltese

Verb

dam

1. dally, stall

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Norwegian

Etymology

From Old Norse damm n, Middle Norwegian dammr m. The meaning dam (structure) probably comes from Middle Low German.

Noun

dam m

1. pond
2. the game of checkers
3. dam (structure)

Inflection

    Inflection of dam

	indefinite singular	definite singular	indefinite plural	definite plural
Bokmål m	dam	dammen	dammer	dammene
Nynorsk m	dam	dammen	dammar	dammane

References

• “dam” in The Bokmål Dictionary / The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d̪ãm]

Verb

dam

1. first-person singular present of dać

Noun

dam

1. Genitive plural of dama

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Rohingya

Etymology

From Bengali.

Noun

dam

1. price

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /dɑːm/

Noun

dam c

1. a lady, a woman
2. (card games) a queen

   Ruter dam

   Queen of diamonds

3. (chess) a queen

Declension

Declension of dam

	singular		plural
Common	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dam || damen || damer || damerna
genitive	dams || damens || damers || damernas

Related terms

damallsvenskan damavdelning dambadhus dambandy dambastu dambekantskap dambesök dambinda

dambjudning dambonde dambricka dambräde dambyxor damcykel damdubbel damfinal

damfotboll damfrisering damfrisör damfrisörska damgambit damgolf damhandboll damhatt

damidrott damig damighet damkappa damklass damkläder damknäppning damkonfektion

damkör damlag damlandslag dammiddag damorkester damrum damsadel damsenior

damsida damsingel damskidåkning damsko damspel damstafett damstrumpa damsällskap

damtidning damtoalett damtävling damunderkläder damväska hovdam

Synonyms

• (in chess): drottning

References

• dam in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)

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Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic tam, from Proto-Turkic *tām (“roof; wall; hut”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑm/

Noun

dam (definite accusative [[{{{1}}}#Turkish|{{{1}}}]], plural [[{{{2}}}#Turkish|{{{2}}}]])

1. roof

References

• *Tām Sergei Starostin, Vladimir Dybo, Oleg Mudrak (2003), Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages, Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers

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Uzbek

Noun

dam (plural damlar)

1. bellows