oakum

[ oh-kuhm ]

noun

1. loose fiber obtained by untwisting and picking apart old ropes, used for caulking the seams of ships.

oakum

/ ˈəʊkəm /

noun

1. loose fibre obtained by unravelling old rope, used esp for caulking seams in wooden ships

Word History and Origins

Origin of oakum¹

before 1000; Middle English okome, Old English ācuma, variant of ācumba, literally, offcombings, equivalent to ā- separative prefix ( a- ³ ) + -cumba ( comb )

Word History and Origins

Origin of oakum¹

Old English ācuma, variant of ācumba, literally: off-combings, from ā- off + -cumba, from cemban to comb

Example Sentences

Fresh off the release of new album “Smoke & Oakum”, the band begins on Friday a tour of the U.S. east coast, where they have a significant following.

From Reuters

You often could still smell the oakum oil-soaked hemp used to pack the joints before they poured the molten lead to make the joints watertight.

From Seattle Times

Some days before my release Martin was going the rounds at half-past seven with one of the senior warders for the purpose of collecting the oakum and tools of the prisoners.

From Slate

His crew appeared busy swabbing decks and picking oakum, but their gazes kept drifting toward the quarterdeck.

From Literature

He even smelled right—like oakum and wood shavings.

From Literature