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Definition of Oakum
1. Noun. Loose hemp or jute fiber obtained by unravelling old ropes; when impregnated with tar it was used to caulk seams and pack joints in wooden ships.
Definition of Oakum
1. n. The material obtained by untwisting and picking into loose fiber old hemp ropes; -- used for calking the seams of ships, stopping leaks, etc.
Definition of Oakum
1. Noun. A material, consisting of tarred fibres, used to caulk or pack joints in plumbing, masonry, and wooden shipbuilding. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Oakum
1. loosely twisted hemp fiber [n -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Oakum
Literary usage of Oakum
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. NBS Special Publication (1919)
"oakum Specifications. The Bureau was called upon to assist in the drawing up of
standard specifications for oakum tor the caulking of vessels, ..."
2. The Retrospect of Medicine by William Braithwaite (1878)
"The value of oakum as an antiseptic dressing was first brought under my ...
oakum, as you are no doubt all aware, is simply tarred rope reduced to its ..."
3. Handbook of Ship Calculations, Construction and Operation: A Book of by Charles Haynes Hughes (1917)
"MISCELLANEOUS NON-METALLIC MATERIALS oakum.—Consists of hemp fibers obtained from
old rope. For caulking decks with oakum a light one-handed mallet is ..."
4. The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana (1861)
"oakum, the threads of hempen ropes picked to pieces, to be used when mixed with
... Until recently old men, women, and children were employed to pick oakum; ..."
5. The Cornhill Magazine by George Smith (1867)
"placed his oakum before him on his little table, carefully made up in a bau.
I also placed my oakum before me ; but it looked very rough when compared with ..."
6. Mechanical Therapeutics by Philip Skinner Wales (1867)
"oakum.-—Lately this article has been much used in the treatment of suppurating
... He simply confines the oakum to the wounded part by a roller bandage. ..."
7. Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal (1862)
"The only object of lint or oakum applied to a suppurating wound, is to absorb
the discharge; and when made of cotton or linen, and pressed upon the opening, ..."
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