loam
noun
- soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even proportions
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ləʊm/ / /luːm/ / /loʊm/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English lome, lame, lam, from Old English lām (“clay, mud, mire, earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *laim, from Proto-Germanic *laimaz, *laimô (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Leem (“loam”), West Frisian liem (“loam”), Dutch leem (“loam”), German Lehm (“loam”). Related also to lime.
- Made of loam; consisting of loam.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English lome, lame, lam, from Old English lām (“clay, mud, mire, earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *laim, from Proto-Germanic *laimaz, *laimô (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Leem (“loam”), West Frisian liem (“loam”), Dutch leem (“loam”), German Lehm (“loam”). Related also to lime.
- A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt and clay, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due.
“Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and of why that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel?”
- A mixture of sand, clay, and other materials, used in making moulds for large castings, often without a pattern.
verb
Etymology: From Middle English lome, lame, lam, from Old English lām (“clay, mud, mire, earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *laim, from Proto-Germanic *laimaz, *laimô (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Leem (“loam”), West Frisian liem (“loam”), Dutch leem (“loam”), German Lehm (“loam”). Related also to lime.
- To cover, smear, or fill with loam.