DAMMING

DAM

dam, dam up

(verb) obstruct with, or as if with, a dam; “dam the gorges of the Yangtse River”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

damming

present participle of dam

Source: Wiktionary


DAM

Dam, n. Etym: [OE. dame mistress, lady; also, mother, dam. See Dame.]

1. A female parent; -- used of beasts, especially of quadrupeds; sometimes applied in contempt to a human mother. Our sire and dam, now confined to horses, are a relic of this age (13th century) . . . .Dame is used of a hen; we now make a great difference between dame and dam. T. L. K. Oliphant. The dam runs lowing up end down, Looking the way her harmless young one went. Shak.

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

Dam, n. Etym: [Akin to OLG., D., & Dan. dam, G. & Sw. damm, Icel. dammr, and AS. fordemman to stop up, Goth. Faúrdammjan.]

1. A barrier to prevent the flow of a liquid; esp., a bank of earth, or wall of any kind, as of masonry or wood, built across a water course, to confine and keep back flowing water.

2. (Metal.)

Definition: A firebrick wall, or a stone, which forms the front of the hearth of a blast furnace. Dam plate (Blast Furnace), an iron plate in front of the dam, to strengthen it.

Dam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dammed; p. pr. & vb. n. Damming.]

1. To obstruct or restrain the flow of, by a dam; to confine by constructing a dam, as a stream of water; -- generally used with in or up. I'll have the current in this place dammed up. Shak. A weight of earth that dams in the water. Mortimer.

2. To shut up; to stop up; to close; to restrain. The strait pass was dammed With dead men hurt behind, and cowards. Shak. To dam out, to keep out by means of a dam.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

21 June 2024

DEMURRAGE

(noun) a charge required as compensation for the delay of a ship or freight car or other cargo beyond its scheduled time of departure


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Coffee Trivia

In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

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