dam

dam

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of dam in English

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

Translingual

Symbol

dam

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

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.
Derived terms
  • backdam
Translations

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To block the flow of water.
Translations

Etymology 2

Variant of dame. Doublet of domina and donna.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

  2. Female parent, mother, generally regarding breeding of animals.
  3. A kind of crowned piece in the game of draughts.
Coordinate terms
  • (female parent): sire
Translations

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

dam (plural dams)

  1. (India) An obsolete Indian copper coin, equal to a fortieth of a rupee.
  2. A former coin of Nepal, 128 of which were worth one mohar.

Etymology 4

Interjection

dam

  1. (slang or pronunciation spelling) Damn.

Further reading

  • dam on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  • dam (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  • Dam in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

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

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

Arem

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *ɗam, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *p(ɗ)am; cognate with Vietnamese năm.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [dam]

Numeral

dam

  1. five

Further reading

  • Michel Ferlus, 2014, Arem, a Vietic Language, Mon-Khmer Studies 43.1-15, page 5

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Old Anatolian Turkish طام‎ (d̥am, dam), from Common Turkic *tām.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɑm/

Noun

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

  1. roof
  2. hovel, shack
  3. dugout
  4. cowshed, sheep cote (a structure where animals are held)
  5. (figuratively) lockup, jail, quod
  6. (archaic) grid, net
  7. (archaic) trap, snare
    Synonyms: tələ, cələ, duzaq

Declension

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

Crimean Tatar

Noun

dam

  1. stable
  2. roof
  3. taste

Declension

Synonyms

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

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

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
  • → Indonesian: dam (“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
Descendants
  • → Indonesian: dam (“draught/checker(s)”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

dam

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

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin damnum.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (obsolete) /dan/, (dated) /dɑ̃/, /dam/

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

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

Derived terms

  • au grand dam de

Related terms

  • damner
  • dommage

Further reading

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

Anagrams

  • AMD

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin damnum.

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

  1. damage

Synonyms

  • daneç

Related terms

  • danâ

Garo

Etymology

Borrowed from Bengali দাম (dam).

Noun

dam

  1. price

Indonesian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈdam]
  • Hyphenation: dam

Etymology 1

From Dutch dam (“king (draught/checkers)”), from Middle French dame, from Old French dame, from Latin domina.

Noun

dam (plural, first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. (games) draught (American), checkers (British).
  2. checker, a pattern of alternating colours as on a chessboard.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Dutch dam (“dam”), from Middle Dutch dam, from Old Dutch dam, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam (plural, first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. dam, 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.
    Synonyms: bendungan, tanggul

Compounds

Etymology 3

From Arabic دَم‎ (dam, “blood”), from Proto-Semitic *dam-, from Proto-Afroasiatic *dam-.

Noun

dam (plural, first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. (Islam) fine, a punishment for breaking the law.

Etymology 4

Symbol

dam

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

Further reading

  • “dam” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Irish

Pronoun

dam (emphatic damsa)

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

Lashi

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *l-(t/d)jam (“full, flat”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dam/

Adjective

dam

  1. flat

References

  • Hkaw Luk, A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎[2], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis), 2017

Malay

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /däm/

Noun

dam (Jawi spelling دم‎, plural dam-dam, informal 1st possessive damku, impolite 2nd possessive dammu, 3rd possessive damnya)

  1. draughts; checkers (two-player board game).
Further reading
  • “dam” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Maltese

Alternative forms

  • diem

Etymology

From Arabic دامَ‎ (dāma).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /daːm/

Verb

dam (imperfect jdum)

  1. to last; to take (time, especially long time)
    Synonym: jtul (imperfect only)

Related terms

  • dejjem

Middle English

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

  • damme, dame

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dam/

Noun

dam

  1. dam (structure to block water)
  2. body of water
Descendants
  • English: dam
  • Scots: dam
References
  • “dam, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

dam

  1. Alternative form of dame

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *damos, from Proto-Indo-European *dm̥h₂-ó- (“bull”), from *demh₂- (“to tame”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /daṽ/

Noun

dam m (genitive daim)

  1. ox
    • c. 1000, Anonymous; published in, Rudolf Thurneysen, editor, Scéla Mucca Meic Dathó, Dublin: Staionery Office, 1935, § 1, l. 12, page 2: “Dam ocus tinne in cach coiri. [[There was] an ox and a side of bacon in each cauldron.]”

Descendants

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

Mutation

Further reading

  • “1 dam”, in Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors, eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, 2019

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.

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.

Occitan

Alternative forms

  • ab (Gard)
  • amb (Languedoc)
  • ambé (Provençal)
  • dab (Gascony)
  • damb (Gascony)
  • emb (Limousin)
  • embé (Provençal)

Adverb

dam

  1. (Gascony) (accompaniment) with

Old Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /daṽ/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *damos, from Proto-Indo-European *dm̥h₂-ó- (“bull”) (compare Albanian dem (“bullock”), Ancient Greek δάμαλος (dámalos, “calf”)), from *demh₂- (“to tame”) (compare Old Irish daimid (“to allow, give in”), Latin domō, English tame).

Noun

dam m (genitive daim)

  1. ox
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 10d6
  2. stag
  3. (by extension) hero, champion
Declension
Descendants
  • Middle Irish: dam
    • Irish: damh
    • Manx: dow
    • Scottish Gaelic: damh

Noun

dam f

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

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

dam

  1. inflection of daimid:
    1. first-person singular present subjunctive conjunct
    2. second-person singular imperative

·dam

  1. third-person singular present indicative conjunct of daimid

Etymology 3

Pronoun

dam

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

Mutation

Further reading

  • “1 dam”, in Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors, eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, 2019
  • “2 dam”, in Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors, eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, 2019

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dam/

Verb

dam

  1. first-person singular future of dać

Noun

dam

  1. genitive plural of dama

Rohingya

Alternative forms

  • 𐴊𐴝𐴔𐴢‎ (dam) – Hanifi Rohingya script

Etymology

From Magadhi Prakrit 𑀤𑀫𑁆𑀫 (damma), from Sanskrit দ্ৰম্ম (drámma), borrowed from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ). Cognate with Bengali দাম (dam).

Noun

dam (Hanifi spelling 𐴊𐴝𐴔𐴢)

  1. price
    Synonyms: dor, kimot

San Juan Guelavía Zapotec

Noun

dam

  1. owl

References

  • López Antonio, Joaquín; Jones, Ted; Jones, Kris, Vocabulario breve del Zapoteco de San Juan Guelavía‎[3] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Tlalpan, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., 2012, pages 14, 23, 40

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 (SAOL)

Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic [script needed] (tam), from Proto-Turkic *Tām.

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɑm/

Noun

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

  1. roof

Uzbek

Noun

dam (plural damlar)

  1. bellows

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

  • đam

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *k-taːm; ultimately from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kt₁aam (“crab”). ‹d› here is the result of lenition (Proto-Vietic *k-t- > Middle Vietnamese ‹d› /ð/ > Modern Vietnamese ‹d›). Compare đam, the form with unlenited initial consonant.

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [zaːm˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [jaːm˧˧]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [jaːm˧˧]

Noun

(classifier con) dam

  1. (North Central Vietnam) field crab; freshwater crab

Zoogocho Zapotec

Noun

dam

  1. owl

References

  • Long C., Rebecca; Cruz M., Sofronio, Diccionario zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 38)‎[4] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., 2000, page 215

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