loam

CEFRB2

/ləʊm/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Rich soil made from sand, clay, and decayed plant matter.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A mixture of sand, clay, and other materials, used in making moulds for large castings, often without a pattern.

Examples

  • The garden soil was rich in loam.

  • The substrate is a type of sandy loam.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
1

Also pronounced

  • /loʊm/
  • /luːm/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To cover, smear, or fill with loam.

  2. A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt and clay, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due.

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Made of loam; consisting of loam.

More examples

In context

  • Loam helped the plants grow stronger.

  • Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam, and of why that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel?

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The gardener mixed sand, silt, and clay to create rich blank for the plants.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English lome, lame, lam, from Old English lām (“clay, mud, mire, earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *laim, from Proto-Germanic *laimaz, *laimô (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Leem (“loam”), West Frisian liem (“loam”), Dutch leem (“loam”), German Lehm (“loam”). Related also to lime.