oakum
/ˈoʊk(ə)m/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.51 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[W]ho should it be but Mr. Daniel, all muffled up, and his face as black as the chimney, and covered with dirt, pitch, and tarr, and powder, and muffled with dirty clouts, and his right eye stopped with okum. He is come last night at five o'clock from the fleete, with a comrade of his that hath endangered another eye."
- "It vvas reſolved hovvever to proceed on our Voyage, vvhich vve did for ten Days, in hopes by the Oakums ſvvelling the Leak might grovv leſs; but to our great Surpriſe, after very hard VVeather near Porto Bello, and not being able to reach it, it increaſed to double the Quantity."
- "[A]s it rained nearly all the time, awnings were put over the hatchways, and all hands sent down between the decks, where we were at work, day after day, picking oakum, until we got enough to caulk the ship all over, and to last the whole voyage."
- "[N]ow that I think of it, he's always wanting oakum to stuff into the toes of his boots."
- "On the 24th of November, the plaintiff wrote the following reply, addressing it to George Havelock:– "Yours containing order for oakums came duly to hand. As it will take three or four days before the white oakum arrives here, we cannot till after that time supply the same. All will be forwarded together. The price of white and brown oakum will be 30s. per cwt. Yours, &c., W. H. Douglas and Co.""
- "Shingle Tiles make a Leak-Proof roof without the use of cements and spun oakums."
Etymology
From Late Middle English okom, okome (“oakum”) [and other forms], from Old English ācumba (“oakum”, literally “that which has been combed out, off-combings”) [and other forms], from ācemban (“to comb out”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (from Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-, *ūd- (“out; up”), or *h₂ew- (“away from, off”)) + *kambijaną (“to comb”) (ultimately from *ǵómbʰos (“row of teeth; tooth; peg”), *ǵembʰ- (“nail; tooth; to gnaw through; to pierce”)). See also out and comb.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂ew-, okom, ācumba, *uz-, *ud-s-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈoʊk(ə)m/
- British English: /ˈəʊkəm/