dam

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

Translingual[edit]

Wikipedia-logo.png
 dam (disambiguation) on Wikipedia

Symbol[edit]

dam

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

English[edit]

A dam.

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

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.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
structure placed across a flowing body of water

Verb[edit]

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

  1. (transitive) To block the flow of water.
Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Variant of dame.

Noun[edit]

dam (plural dams)

  2. Female parent, mother, generally regarding breeding of animals.
  3. A kind of crowned piece in the game of draughts.
Coordinate terms[edit]
  • (female parent): sire
Translations[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam (plural dams)

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

Etymology 4[edit]

Interjection[edit]

dam

  1. (slang or pronunciation spelling) Damn.

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

dam (plural damme)

  1. pond, basin
  2. dam

Derived terms[edit]

Arem[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Vietic *ɗam, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *p(ɗ)am; cognate with Vietnamese năm.

Pronunciation[edit]

Numeral[edit]

dam

  1. five

Further reading[edit]

Azerbaijani[edit]

yaşıl dam
green roof

Etymology[edit]

From Old Anatolian Turkish طام‎ (d̥am, dam), from Common Turkic *tām.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

  1. roof
  2. hovel, shack
  3. dugout
  4. cowshed, sheep cote (a structure where animals are held)
    donuz damı ― pigsty
  5. (figuratively) lockup, jail, quod
    dama basdırmaq ― to lock up, to put in jail

Declension[edit]

Declension of dam
singular plural
nominative dam damlar
definite accusative damı damları
dative dama damlara
locative damda damlarda
ablative damdan damlardan
definite genitive damın damların
Possessive forms of dam
nominative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damım damlarım
sənin (“your”) damın damların
onun (“his/her/its”) damı damları
bizim (“our”) damımız damlarımız
sizin (“your”) damınız damlarınız
onların (“their”) damı or damları damları
accusative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımı damlarımı
sənin (“your”) damını damlarını
onun (“his/her/its”) damını damlarını
bizim (“our”) damımızı damlarımızı
sizin (“your”) damınızı damlarınızı
onların (“their”) damını or damlarını damlarını
dative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damıma damlarıma
sənin (“your”) damına damlarına
onun (“his/her/its”) damına damlarına
bizim (“our”) damımıza damlarımıza
sizin (“your”) damınıza damlarınıza
onların (“their”) damına or damlarına damlarına
locative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımda damlarımda
sənin (“your”) damında damlarında
onun (“his/her/its”) damında damlarında
bizim (“our”) damımızda damlarımızda
sizin (“your”) damınızda damlarınızda
onların (“their”) damında or damlarında damlarında
ablative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımdan damlarımdan
sənin (“your”) damından damlarından
onun (“his/her/its”) damından damlarından
bizim (“our”) damımızdan damlarımızdan
sizin (“your”) damınızdan damlarınızdan
onların (“their”) damından or damlarından damlarından
genitive
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımın damlarımın
sənin (“your”) damının damlarının
onun (“his/her/its”) damının damlarının
bizim (“our”) damımızın damlarımızın
sizin (“your”) damınızın damlarınızın
onların (“their”) damının or damlarının damlarının

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

dam

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

Crimean Tatar[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam

  1. stable
  2. roof
  3. taste

Declension[edit]

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

Synonyms[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse dammr (“dam”).

Noun[edit]

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite damme)

  1. pond
  2. corf, livewell (for storage of live fish under water)
Inflection[edit]
Declension of dam
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative dam dammen damme dammene
genitive dams dammens dammes dammenes
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

dam c or n

  1. draughts, checkers

Etymology 3[edit]

Borrowed from French dame (“lady”).

Noun[edit]

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite dammer)

  1. king (superior piece in draughts)
Inflection[edit]
Declension of dam
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative dam dammen dammer dammerne
genitive dams dammens dammers dammernes

Dutch[edit]

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

dam m (plural dammen, diminutive dammetje n)

  1. dam
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • Afrikaans: dam
  • → Indonesian: dam (“dam”)

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from Middle French dame, from Spanish dama.

Noun[edit]

dam f (plural dammen)

  1. (checkers) king (double draught/checker)
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • → Indonesian: dam (“draught/checker(s)”)

Etymology 3[edit]

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb[edit]

dam

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

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin damnum.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): (obsolete) /dan/, (dated) /dɑ̃/, /dam/

Noun[edit]

dam m (plural dams)

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

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Friulian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin damnum.

Noun[edit]

dam m (plural dams)

  1. damage

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Indonesian[edit]

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈdam]
  • Hyphenation: dam

Etymology 1[edit]

From Dutch dam (“king (draught/checkers)”), from Middle French dame, from Old French dame, from Latin domina.

Noun[edit]

dam (plural, first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. (games) draught (American), checkers (British).
  2. checker, a pattern of alternating colours as on a chessboard.

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Dutch dam (“dam”), from Middle Dutch dam, from Old Dutch dam, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun[edit]

dam (plural, first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. dam, 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.
    Synonyms: bendungan, tanggul

Compounds[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Arabic دَم‎ (dam, “blood”), from Proto-Semitic *dam-, from Proto-Afroasiatic *dam-.

Noun[edit]

dam (plural, first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. (Islam) fine, a punishment for breaking the law.

Etymology 4[edit]

Symbol[edit]

dam

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

Further reading[edit]

Irish[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

dam (emphatic damsa)

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

Lashi[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *l-(t/d)jam (“full, flat”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

dam

  1. flat

References[edit]

  • Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎[2], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)

Malay[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam (Jawi spelling دم‎, plural dam-dam, informal 1st possessive damku, impolite 2nd possessive dammu, 3rd possessive damnya)

  1. draughts; checkers (two-player board game).
Further reading[edit]

Maltese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Root
d-w-m

From Arabic دامَ‎ (dāma).

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

dam (imperfect jdum)

  1. to last; to take (time, especially long time)
    Synonym: jtul (imperfect only)

Related terms[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam

  1. dam (structure to block water)
  2. body of water
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam

  1. Alternative form of dame

Middle Irish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Celtic *damos, from Proto-Indo-European *dm̥h₂-ó- (“bull”), from *demh₂- (“to tame”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam m (genitive daim)

  1. ox
    • c. 1000, Anonymous; published in (1935) , Rudolf Thurneysen, editor, Scéla Mucca Meic Dathó, Dublin: Staionery Office, § 1, l. 12, page 2: “Dam ocus tinne in cach coiri. [[There was] an ox and a side of bacon in each cauldron.]”

Descendants[edit]

Mutation[edit]

Middle 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.

Further reading[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

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)

Synonyms[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

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)

Synonyms[edit]

References[edit]

Old Irish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Celtic *damos, from Proto-Indo-European *dm̥h₂-ó- (“bull”) (compare Albanian dem (“bullock”), Ancient Greek δάμαλος (dámalos, “calf”)), from *demh₂- (“to tame”) (compare Old Irish daimid (“to allow, give in”), Latin domō, English tame).

Noun[edit]

dam m (genitive daim)

  1. ox
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 10d6
      .i. do·fuáircc .i. ar is bés leosom in daim do thúarcuin ind arbe
      Which tramples, i.e. for it is custom among them to have the oxen trample on the corn.
  2. stag
  3. (by extension) hero, champion
Declension[edit]
Masculine o-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative dam damL daimL, doim
Vocative daim, doim damL daumuH, dumu, damu
Accusative damN damL daumuH, dumu, damu
Genitive daimL, doim dam damN
Dative daumL, dum, dam damaib damaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization
Descendants[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam f

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

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb[edit]

dam

  1. inflection of daimid:
    1. first-person singular present subjunctive conjunct
    2. second-person singular imperative

·dam

  1. third-person singular present indicative conjunct of daimid

Etymology 3[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

dam

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

Mutation[edit]

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.

Further reading[edit]

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

dam

  1. first-person singular future of dać

Noun[edit]

dam

  1. genitive plural of dama

Rohingya[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Magadhi Prakrit 𑀤𑀫𑁆𑀫 (damma), from Sanskrit দ্ৰম্ম (drámma), borrowed from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ). Cognate with Bengali দাম (dam).

Noun[edit]

dam (Hanifi spelling 𐴊𐴝𐴔𐴢)

  1. price
    Synonyms: dor, kimot

San Juan Guelavía Zapotec[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam

  1. owl

References[edit]

  • López Antonio, Joaquín; Jones, Ted; Jones, Kris (2012) Vocabulario breve del Zapoteco de San Juan Guelavía‎[3] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Tlalpan, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 14, 23, 40

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam c

  1. a lady, a woman
  2. (card games) a queen
    Ruter dam
    Queen of diamonds
  3. (chess) a queen

Declension[edit]

Declension of dam 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative dam damen damer damerna
Genitive dams damens damers damernas

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Chess pieces in Swedish · schackpjäser (schack + pjäser) (layout · text)
♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟
kung dam, drottning torn löpare springare, häst bonde

References[edit]

Turkish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Turkic [script needed] (tam), from Proto-Turkic *Tām.

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

  1. roof

Uzbek[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam (plural damlar)

  1. bellows

Vietnamese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Vietic *k-taːm; ultimately from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kt₁aam (“crab”). ‹d› here is the result of lenition (Proto-Vietic *k-t- > Middle Vietnamese ‹d› /ð/ > Modern Vietnamese ‹d›). Compare đam, the form with unlenited initial consonant.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

(classifier con) dam

  1. (North Central Vietnam) field crab; freshwater crab
    Dù ai béo bạo như tru,
    Về đất Kẻ Ngù cũng tóm như dam
    Ai mà gầy tóm như dam
    Về đất nhà Chàng, cũng béo như tru
    Whosoever as fat and ferocious as the buffalo,
    when coming to Kẻ Ngù, they'll be as lean as the crab.
    Whosoever as lean as the crab,
    when coming home to Chàng, they'll be as fat as the buffalo

Zoogocho Zapotec[edit]

Noun[edit]

dam

  1. owl

References[edit]

  • Long C., Rebecca; Cruz M., Sofronio (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 38)‎[4] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 215
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