Where does “loam” come from?
Loam comes from Middle English lome, Old English lam, Proto-Germanic laimô, and Proto-Indo-European lem-, all referring to clay or mud used in construction.
loam (English): A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt...
Definitions
- A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt...
Ancestry of “loam”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | leime | — |
| 2 | Old High German | leimo | loam |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *laimō | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | laimô | clay |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂leyH- | to smear |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | leyh₂- | to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,... |
Words derived from “loam”