dam

English Online Dictionary. What means dam‎? What does dam mean?

Translingual

Symbol

dam

1. (metrology) Symbol for the decameter (decametre), an SI unit of length equal to 10¹ meters (metres).

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English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /dæm/
• Rhymes: -æm
• Homophone: damn

Etymology 1

From Middle English dam, damme, from Old English *dam, *damm (inferred from derivative fordemman (“to hem in”)), from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

1. A structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow or part of the flow, generally for purposes such as retaining or diverting
   some of the water or retarding the release of accumulated water to avoid abrupt flooding
2. The water reservoir resulting from placing such structure.

3. (dentistry) A device to prevent a tooth from getting wet during dental work, consisting of a rubber sheet held with a band.
4. (South Africa, Australia) A reservoir.
5. A firebrick wall, or a stone, which forms the front of the hearth of a blast furnace.
6. (India) An obsolete Indian copper coin, equal to a fortieth of a rupee.

Translations

Verb

dam (third-person singular simple present dams, present participle damming, simple past and past participle dammed)

1. To block the flow of water.

Translations

See also

• dam on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

Etymology 2

Variant of dame.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

1. Female parent, mother, generally regarding breeding of animals (correlative to sire).
   • Shakespeare

     The dam runs lowing up and down, / Looking the way her harmless young one went.

   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I:

     she / Resolved that Juan should be quite a paragon, / And worthy of the noblest pedigree / (His sire was from Castile, his dam from Aragon) […].

   • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, 1992, p.112:

     The sky was cloudless—the moon rolled across the surface like a lamb searching for its dam.

2. A kind of crowned piece in the game of draughts.

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

dam (plural dams)

1. A former coin of Nepal, 128 of which were worth one mohar.

Further reading

• Dam in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• ADM, AMD, Adm., DMA, MAD, MDA, adm., mad

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch dam, from Middle Dutch dam, from Old Dutch dam, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam (plural damme)

1. pond, basin
2. dam

Derived terms

• opgaardam
• studam

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Cebuano

Etymology

From English dam, from Middle English dam, damme, from Old English *dam, *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam

1. a dam; a structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow
2. a reservoir

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Crimean Tatar

Noun

dam

1. stable
2. roof
3. taste

Declension

Synonyms

• (stable): aran
• (taste): lezet, nezet, tat, dad

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Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse dammr (“dam”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite damme)

1. pond
2. corf, livewell (for storage of live fish under water)

Inflection

Derived terms

• dambrug n

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French jeu de dames (“draughts”).

Noun

dam c or n

1. draughts, checkers

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French dame (“lady”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite dammer)

1. king (superior piece in draughts)

Inflection

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑm/
• Hyphenation: dam
• Rhymes: -ɑm

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch dam, from Old Dutch dam, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam m (plural dammen, diminutive dammetje n)

1. dam

Derived terms

• beverdam
• lavadam
• muurdam
• rijsdam
• strekdam
• stuwdam
• visdam
• Amsterdam
• Rotterdam

Descendants

• Afrikaans: dam

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle French dame, from Spanish dama.

Noun

dam f (plural dammen)

1. (checkers) king (double draught/checker)

Related terms

• dammen

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

dam

1. first-person singular present indicative of dammen
2. imperative of dammen

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin damnum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑ̃/

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

1. (obsolete except in phrases) damage
2. (religion) damnation

Derived terms

• au grand dam de

Related terms

• dommage

Further reading

• “dam” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• AMD

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Friulian

Etymology

From Latin damnum.

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

1. damage

Synonyms

• daneç

Related terms

• danâ

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Irish

Pronoun

dam (emphatic damsa)

1. Alternative form of dom (“for/to me”)

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Lashi

Adjective

dam

1. flat

References

• https://inter.payap.ac.th/wp-content/uploads/linguistics_students/Luk_Hkaw_Thesis2017.pdf

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Maltese

Verb

dam

1. dally, stall

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Middle Norwegian dammr m, from Old Norse damm n. The meaning dam (structure) probably comes from Middle Low German [Term?]. Sense 3 is from French jeu de dames.

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammer, definite plural dammene)

1. a pond
2. a dam (structure)
3. the game of checkers (US) or draughts (UK)

Synonyms

• demning (structure)

References

• “dam” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Middle Norwegian dammr m, from Old Norse damm n. The meaning dam (structure) probably comes from Middle Low German [Term?]. Sense 3 is from French jeu de dames.

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammar, definite plural dammane)

1. a pond
2. a dam (structure)
3. the game of checkers (US) or draughts (UK)

Synonyms

• demning (structure)

References

• “dam” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daṽ/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *damos (“bull”), from Proto-Indo-European *demh₂-

Noun

dam m (genitive daim)

1. ox
2. stag
3. (by extension) hero, champion

Declension

Descendants

• Irish: damh
• Manx: dow
• Scottish Gaelic: damh

Noun

dam f

1. hind, cow (old feminine form of previous)

Etymology 2

Inflected forms of daimid.

Verb

dam

1. first-person singular present subjunctive conjunct of daimid
2. Alternative form of daim

·dam

1. Alternative form of ·daim

Etymology 3

Pronoun

dam

1. Alternative form of dom (“to/for me”)

Mutation

References

• C. Marstrander, E. G. Quin et al., editors (1913–76), “1 dam”, in Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, →ISBN
• C. Marstrander, E. G. Quin et al., editors (1913–76), “2 dam”, in Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, →ISBN

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Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dam/

Verb

dam

1. first-person singular future of dać

Noun

dam

1. genitive plural of dama

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Rohingya

Etymology

From Bengali [Term?].

Noun

dam

1. price

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San Juan Guelavía Zapotec

Noun

dam

1. owl

References

• López Antonio, Joaquín; Jones, Ted; Jones, Kris (2012) Vocabulario breve del Zapoteco de San Juan Guelavía‎^[2] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Tlalpan, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 14, 23, 40

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑːm/

Noun

dam c

1. a lady, a woman
2. (card games) a queen

3. (chess) a queen

Declension

Synonyms

• (in chess): drottning

Related terms

See also

References

• dam in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)

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Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic [script needed] (tam), from Proto-Turkic *Tām (“roof; wall; hut”).

Compare Uyghur تام‎ (tam, “wall”), Korean 담 (dam, “wall”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑm/

Noun

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

1. roof

References

• *Tām Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003) Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

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Uzbek

Noun

dam (plural damlar)

1. bellows