seam
/ˈsiːm/ noun, verb
Forms seams seaming seamed seme saim
- noun (sewing) A folded-back and stitched piece of fabric; especially, the stitching that joins two or more pieces of fabric.
- noun A suture.
- noun (geology) A thin stratum, especially of an economically viable material such as coal or mineral.
- noun (cricket) The stitched equatorial seam of a cricket ball; the sideways movement of a ball when it bounces on the seam.
- noun (construction, nautical) A joint formed by mating two separate sections of materials. “Seams can be made or sealed in a variety of ways, including adhesive bonding, hot-air welding, solvent welding, using adhesive tapes, sealant, etc.”
- noun A line or depression left by a cut or wound; a scar; a cicatrix.
- noun (figurative) A line of junction; a joint.
- verb To put together with a seam.
- verb To make the appearance of a seam in, as in knitting a stocking; hence, to knit with a certain stitch, like that in such knitting.
- verb To mark with a seam or line; to scar.
- verb To crack open along a seam.
- verb (cricket) Of the ball, to move sideways after bouncing on the seam.
- verb (cricket) Of a bowler, to make the ball move thus.
- noun (historical) An old English measure of grain, containing eight bushels.
- noun (historical) An old English measure of glass, containing twenty-four weys of five pounds, or 120 pounds.
- noun (UK, dialect, obsolete) Grease; tallow; lard.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English seem, seme, from Old English sēam (“seam”), from Proto-West Germanic *saum, from Proto-Germanic *saumaz (“that which is sewn”).
Cognate with Dutch zoom (“hem, edge”), German Saum (“hem, edge”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål søm (“seam”), Norwegian Nynorsk saum (“seam”), Swedish söm (“seam”).
From the noun seam.
From Old English sēam (“a burden”), from Latin sagma (“saddle”).
From Middle English seym (“grease”), from Old French saim (“fat”). Compare French saindoux (“lard”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Grease; tallow; lard. [Obs. or prov. Eng.] Shak. Dryden.
- noun The fold or line formed by sewing together two pieces of cloth or leather.
- noun Hence, a line of junction; a joint; a suture, as on a ship, a floor, or other structure; the line of union, or joint, of two boards, planks, metal plates, etc. Precepts should be so finely wrought together . . . that no coarse seam may discover where they join. Addison.
- verb To form a seam upon or of; to join by sewing together; to unite.
Etymology [See Saim.]
Etymology [OE. seem, seam, AS. seám; akin to D. zoom, OHG. soum, G. saum, LG. soom, Icel. saumr, Sw. & Dan. söm, and E. sew. sq. root 156. See Sew to fasten with thread.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “seam”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details