dam

See also: Dam, dám, dâm, dăm, da̰m, and Appendix:Variations of "dam"

Translingual

Symbol

dam

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

---

English

A dam.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /dæm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm
• Homophone: damn

Etymology 1

From Middle English dam, damme, from Old English *dam, *damm (inferred from derivative fordemman (“to hem in”)), from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

1. A structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow or part of the flow, generally for purposes such as retaining or diverting
   some of the water or retarding the release of accumulated water to avoid abrupt flooding

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

   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in 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”, in 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. The water reservoir resulting from placing such structure.

   Boats may only be used at places set aside for boating on the dam

3. (dentistry) A device to prevent a tooth from getting wet during dental work, consisting of a rubber sheet held with a band.
4. (South Africa, Australia) A reservoir.
5. A firebrick wall, or a stone, which forms the front of the hearth of a blast furnace.
6. (India) An obsolete Indian copper coin, equal to a fortieth of a rupee.
   • 1839, William Holloway, A General Dictionary of Provincialisms, Written with a View to Rescue from Oblivion the Fast Fading Relics of By-gone Days, Lewes, East Sussex: Sussex Press: Printed and published by Baxter and Son, OCLC 3138091, page 42:

     […] 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." [Possibly a folk etymology.]

Translations

structure placed across a flowing body of water

• Afrikaans: dam (af)
• Albanian: pendë (sq) f, digë (sq) f
• Amharic: ግድብ (gədb)
• Arabic: سَدّ‎ m (sadd)
• Armenian: ամբարտակ (hy) (ambartak)
• Azerbaijani: bənd (az), sədd, damba
• Bashkir: быуа (bïwa)
• Belarusian: плаці́на (be) (placína), да́мба f (dámba)
• Bengali: বাঁধ (bãdh)
• Bulgarian: бент (bg) m (bent)
• Burmese: ရေကာတာ (my) (rekata)
• Chakma: 𑄉𑄧𑄙 (gadhā)
• Chinese:

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

• Cornish: arge m
• Crimean Tatar: bent
• Czech: hráz (cs) f, přehrada (cs) f
• Danish: dæmning (da)
• Dutch: dam (nl) m
• Erzya: каваз (kavaz)
• Esperanto: akvobaraĵo
• Estonian: pais
• Finnish: pato (fi)
• French: barrage (fr) m
• Galician: presa f, encoro (gl) m
• Georgian: კაშხალი (ḳašxali), ჯებირი (ǯebiri), დამბა (damba)
• German: Damm (de) m
• Greek: φράγμα (el) n (frágma)
• Hebrew: סֶכֶר‎ (he) m (sékher)
• Hindi: बाँध (hi) (bā̃dh)
• Hungarian: gát (hu)
• Hunsrik: Damm m
• Icelandic: stífla f
• Ido: aquobarilo (io)
• Indonesian: bendungan (id), empang (id)
• Italian: argine (it) m, diga (it)
• Japanese: ダム (ja) (damu)
• Kazakh: бөгет (kk) (böget), дамба (damba)
• Khmer: ទំនប់ (km) (tumnup)
• Korean: 댐 (ko) (daem)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: به‌ربه‌ست‎ (ku) (berbest)

• Kyrgyz: бөгөт (ky) (bögöt), дамба (ky) (damba)

• Lao: ຝາຍ (fāi), ເຂື່ອນ (lo) (khư̄an)
• Latvian: dambis m, aizsprosts m
• Lithuanian: užtvanka f, damba f
• Macedonian: бра́на f (brána), на́сип m (násip)
• Malay: empang, empangan, pengempang, ampang, bendung, bendungan, pembendung, tebat, tambak, tandup, alahan
• Maltese: diga
• Manchu: ᡩᠠᠯᠠᠨ (dalan), ᡩᠠᠯᠠᠩᡤᠠ (dalangga)
• Maori: matatara, pāwai
• Mongolian: далан (mn) (dalan), боомт (mn) (boomt)
• Navajo: dáʼdeestłʼin, tó beʼekʼid
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: demning

• Persian: سد‎ (fa) (sadd)
• Polish: tama (pl) f, zapora (pl) f
• Portuguese: barragem (pt) f, represa (pt) f
• Quechua: hark'a
• Romanian: baraj (ro) n
• Russian: плоти́на (ru) f (plotína), да́мба (ru) f (dámba), гать (ru) f (gatʹ), на́сыпь (ru) f (násypʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: насип m, брана f, гат m

  Roman: nasip (sh) m, brana (sh) f, gat (sh) m

• Shan: ၽၢႆ (pʰaaj1)
• Slovak: priehrada f
• Slovene: jez (sl) m
• Spanish: presa (es) f
• Swedish: damm (sv)
• Tagalog: tarundon, saplad, prinsa
• Tajik: сарбанд (tg) (sarband), дамба (tg) (damba), дарғот (darġot)
• Tamil: அணை (ta) (aṇai)
• Tatar: буа (tt) (bua)
• Telugu: ఆనకట్ట (te) (ānakaṭṭa)
• Thai: เขื่อน (th) (kʉ̀ʉan)
• Tibetan: ཆུ་རག (chu rag)
• Turkish: baraj (tr), set (tr)
• Turkmen: bent (tk), damba
• Ukrainian: гре́бля f (hréblja), да́мба f (dámba)
• Urdu: بند‎
• Uzbek: toʻgʻon (uz), damba (uz)
• Vietnamese: đập (vi)
• Welsh: argae (cy) m
• Yiddish: דאַם‎ m (dam)

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
• Indonesian: membendung (id)

• Italian: imbrigliare (it)
• Maori: pāpuni, puni
• Spanish: represar (es)

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, transl.; Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in The Essayes, […], book II, printed at London: By Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:

     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), 母獸 (zh) (mǔshòu)

• 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

Etymology 3

Noun

dam (plural dams)

1. A former coin of Nepal, 128 of which were worth one mohar.

Further reading

• Dam in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• ADM, AMD, Adm., DMA, MAD, MDA, adm., mad

---

Afrikaans

Etymology

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

Noun

dam (plural damme)

1. pond, basin
2. dam

Derived terms

• opgaardam
• studam

---

Cebuano

Etymology

From English dam, from Middle English dam, damme, from Old English *dam, *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam

1. a dam; a structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow
2. a reservoir

---

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

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

---

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse dammr (“dam”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite damme)

1. pond
2. corf, livewell (for storage of live fish under water)

Inflection

Declension of dam

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

Derived terms

• dambrug n

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French jeu de dames (“draughts”).

Noun

dam c, n

1. draughts, checkers

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French dame (“lady”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite dammer)

1. king (superior piece in draughts)

Inflection

Declension of dam

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

---

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑm/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dam
• Rhymes: -ɑm

Etymology 1

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

Noun

dam m (plural dammen, diminutive dammetje n)

1. dam

Derived terms

• beverdam
• lavadam
• muurdam
• stuwdam
• visdam
• Amsterdam
• Rotterdam

Descendants

• Afrikaans: dam

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle French dame, from Spanish dama.

Noun

dam f (plural dammen)

1. (checkers) king (double draught/checker)

Related terms

• dammen

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

dam

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

---

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin damnum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑ̃/

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

1. (obsolete except in phrases) damage
2. (religion) damnation

Derived terms

• au grand dam de

Related terms

• dommage

Further reading

• “dam” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• AMD

---

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin damnum.

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

1. damage

Synonyms

• daneç

Related terms

• danâ

---

Irish

Pronoun

dam (emphatic damsa)

1. Alternative form of dom (“for/to me”)

---

Maltese

Verb

dam

1. dally, stall

---

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Middle Norwegian dammr m, from Old Norse damm n. The meaning dam (structure) probably comes from Middle Low German [Term?]. Sense 3 is from French jeu de dames.

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammer, definite plural dammene)

1. a pond
2. a dam (structure)
3. the game of checkers (US) or draughts (UK)

References

• “dam” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Middle Norwegian dammr m, from Old Norse damm n. The meaning dam (structure) probably comes from Middle Low German [Term?]. Sense 3 is from French jeu de dames.

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammar, definite plural dammane)

1. a pond
2. a dam (structure)
3. the game of checkers (US) or draughts (UK)

References

• “dam” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daṽ/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *damos (“bull”), from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂-

Noun

dam m (genitive daim)

1. ox
2. stag
3. (by extension) hero, champion

Declension

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	dam	damL	daimL
Vocative	daim	damL	daumuH
Accusative	damN	damL	daumuH
Genitive	daimL	dam	damN
Dative	daumL	damaib	damaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

• Alternative forms:

  genitive singular, nominative plural: doim

  dative singular: dum, dam

  accusative plural: dumu, damu

Descendants

• Irish: damh
• Scottish Gaelic: damh

Noun

dam f

1. hind, cow (old feminine form of previous)

Etymology 2

Inflected forms of daimid.

Verb

dam

1. first-person singular present subjunctive conjunct of daimid
2. Alternative form of daim

·dam

1. Alternative form of ·daim

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
dam	dam pronounced with /ð(ʲ)-/	ndam
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• “1 dam” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “2 dam” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

---

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dam/

Verb

dam

1. first-person singular present of dać

Noun

dam

1. genitive plural of dama

---

Rohingya

Etymology

From Bengali [Term?].

Noun

dam

1. price

---

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
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	dam	damen	damer	damerna
Genitive	dams	damens	damers	damernas

Synonyms

• (in chess): drottning

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

 

References

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

---

Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic [script needed] (tam), from Proto-Turkic *Tām (“roof; wall; hut”), which, according to the controversial Altaic hypothesis, is possibly derived from Proto-Altaic *t`āma (“wall, roof”).

Compare Uyghur تام‎ (tam, “wall”), Korean 담 (dam, “wall”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑm/

Noun

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

1. roof

References

• *Tām Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003) Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

---

Uzbek

Noun

dam (plural damlar)

1. bellows