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Webster 1913 Edition

Oakum

Oak′um

(ōk′ŭm)
,
Noun.
[AS.
ācumba
; pref.
ā-
(cf. G.
er-
, Goth.
us-
, orig. meaning, out) +
cemban
to comb,
camb
comb. See
Comb
.]
1.
The material obtained by untwisting and picking into loose fiber old hemp ropes; – used for calking the seams of ships, stopping leaks, etc.
2.
The coarse portion separated from flax or hemp in nackling.
Knight.
White oakum
,
that made from untarred rope.

Webster 1828 Edition

Oakum

OAKUM

,
Noun.
The substance of old ropes untwisted and pulled into loose hemp; used for caulking the seams of ships, stopping leaks, &c. That formed from untarred ropes is called white oakum.

Definition 2024

oakum

oakum

English

Noun

oakum ‎(countable and uncountable, plural oakums)

  1. A material, consisting of tarred fibres, used to caulk or pack joints in plumbing, masonry, and wooden shipbuilding.
  2. The coarse portion separated from flax or hemp in hackling.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English okome, from Old English ācumba ‎(“oakum”, literally “that which has been combed out, off-combings”), a derivative of ācemban ‎(“to comb out”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- + *kambijaną ‎(“to comb”), from Proto-Indo-European *uds-, *ūd- ‎(“out”) + Proto-Indo-European *ǵombʰ-, *ǵembʰ- ‎(“tooth, nail; to pierce, gnaw through”). More at out, comb.

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