loam

[lohm]

See more synonyms for loam on Thesaurus.com

noun

a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.
a mixture of clay, sand, straw, etc., used in making molds for founding and in plastering walls, stopping holes, etc.
earth or soil.

Obsolete. clay or clayey earth.

verb (used with object)

to cover or stop with loam.

Origin of loam

before 900; late Middle English lome, earlier lam(e), Old English lām; cognate with Dutch leem, German Lehm loam, clay; akin to lime¹

Related formsloam·i·ness, nounloam·less, adjectiveloam·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for loam

estate, soil, terrain, home, earth, continent, ground, plot, district, area, field, homeland, territory, beach, province, parcel, countryside, acreage, tract, nation

Examples from the Web for loam

Historical Examples of loam

The loam should be slightly moist, and free from organic matter.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
A stiff, half-clay soil with some loam is best suited to this crop.
Agriculture for Beginners
Charles William Burkett
Loam: an earthy mixture of clay and sand with organic matter.
Agriculture for Beginners
Charles William Burkett
Test with clay, gravel, and loam, also with mixtures of these and leaf-mould.
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study
Ontario Ministry of Education
Every plant had all the loam, light, water, air and nourishment it could use.
2 B R 0 2 B
Kurt Vonnegut

British Dictionary definitions for loam

loam

noun

rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand, clay, and decaying organic material
a paste of clay and sand used for making moulds in a foundry, plastering walls, etc

verb

(tr) to cover, treat, or fill with loam

Derived Formsloamy, adjectiveloaminess, noun

Word Origin for loam

Old English lām; related to Old Swedish lēmo clay, Old High German leimo

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for loam

Old English lam "clay, mud, mire, earth," from Proto-Germanic *laimaz (cf. Old Saxon lemo, Dutch leem, German Lehm "loam"), from PIE root *(s)lei- "slimy" (see slime (n.)). As a type of highly fertile clayey soil, it is attested from 1660s. As a verb from c.1600.

loam in Science

loam

[lōm]

Soil composed of approximately equal quantities of sand, silt, and clay, often with variable amounts of decayed plant matter.