loam

[lohm]

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.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for loaming

At the first loaming of the ship vpon the river, wee found (as was foretold us) all the Countrey in Armes.
Great Epochs in American History, Vol. II|Various

British Dictionary definitions for loaming

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 loaming

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.

Science definitions for loaming

loam

[lōm]

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