dam 1  (d ăm)
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n.1. a. A barrier constructed across a waterway to control the flow or raise the level of water. b. A body of water controlled by such a barrier. 2. A barrier against the passage of liquid or loose material, as a rubber sheet used in dentistry to isolate one or more teeth from the rest of the mouth. tr.v. dammed, dam·ming, dams 1. To hold back or confine by means of a dam. 2. To close up; obstruct: He tried to dam his grief.
[Middle English.]
dammer n.  (click for a larger image) dam1Shasta Dam, on the Sacramento River, near Redding, California |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
dam 2  (d ăm)
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n.1. A female parent of an animal, especially a domesticated mammal such as a horse. 2. Archaic A mother.
[Middle English dam, dame, lady, mother; see DAME.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Dam  (d ăm, däm), (Carl Peter) Henrik 1895-1976.
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Danish biochemist. He shared a 1943 Nobel Prize for the discovery of vitamin K. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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