oakum

[ oh-kuh m ]
/ ˈoʊ kəm /

noun

loose fiber obtained by untwisting and picking apart old ropes, used for caulking the seams of ships.

Origin of oakum

before 1000; Middle English okome, Old English ācuma, variant of ācumba, literally, offcombings, equivalent to ā- separative prefix (see a-3) + -cumba (see comb1)

Words nearby oakum

oakley, oakley, annie, oakmoss, oaks, oaktag, oakum, oakville, oaky, oamaru stone, oanshagh, oao

Example sentences from the Web for oakum

British Dictionary definitions for oakum

oakum
/ (ˈəʊkəm) /

noun

loose fibre obtained by unravelling old rope, used esp for caulking seams in wooden ships

Word Origin for oakum

Old English ācuma, variant of ācumba, literally: off-combings, from ā- off + -cumba, from cemban to comb