Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
oak leaf cluster
Oak Park
oak wilt
oaken
Oakham
Oakland
Oakland Park
oakmoss
oakum
Oakville
OAM
Oamaru
OAP
oar
oarfish
oarlock
oarsman
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "oakum" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

oakum

oa·kum [ ṓkəm ]


noun 
Definition:
 
old tar-soaked rope: hemp or jute fibers, especially from old ropes unraveled and soaked in tar. Use: formerly, sealant for gaps between the planks in a wooden boat's hull.

[ Old English ācumba "broken fibers," literally "off-combing" < Indo-European, "tooth"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft