loam

[ lohm ]

/ loʊm /

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.

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 loamy

Everywhere we turn, there are loamy loins and torrents of testosterone.
Accidental Billionaires|Samuel P. Jacobs|July 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The hens lay their eggs in a shallow hollow in loamy or sandy soil, and it is the male bird which sits on the eggs.
From Pole to Pole|Sven Anders Hedin
They are all of easy culture in any loamy soil inclining to moisture.
The American Flower Garden Directory|Thomas Hibbert
For all general purposes, a soil which is loamy in texture is desirable.
A Living from the Land|William B. Duryee

The soil is stony and loamy, and at the higher levels there are numerous peat-bogs.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 6|Various
They grow best in a loamy soil, enriched with well-rotted manure, which should be dug in below the tubers.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for loamy

loam

/ (ləʊm) /

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 loamy

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.