seam en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English seem, seme, from Old English sēam (“seam”), from Proto-West Germanic *saum, from Proto-Germanic *saumaz (“that which is sewn”). Cognate with Dutch zoom (“hem, edge”), German Saum (“hem, edge”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål søm (“seam”), Norwegian Nynorsk saum (“seam”), Swedish söm (“seam”).
Meanings
-
A folded-back and stitched piece of fabric; especially, the stitching that joins two or more pieces of fabric.
Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. […] Frills, ruffles, flounces, lace, complicated seams and gores: not only did they sweep the ground and have to be held up in one hand elegantly as you walked along, but they had little capes or coats or feather boas.
1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
- A suture.
-
A thin stratum, especially of an economically viable material such as coal or mineral.
He even roused himself to go to the mines once more: […]. He sat there, crippled, in a tub, with the under-ground manager showing him the seam with a powerful torch.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter IX, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC, page 126:
- The stitched equatorial seam of a cricket ball; the sideways movement of a ball when it bounces on the seam.
-
A joint formed by mating two separate sections of materials.
Seams can be made or sealed in a variety of ways, including adhesive bonding, hot-air welding, solvent welding, using adhesive tapes, sealant, etc.
- A line or depression left by a cut or wound; a scar; a cicatrix.
-
(figuratively) A line of junction; a joint.
Precepts should be so finely wrought together[…]that no coarse seam may discover where they join.
1697, Joseph Addison, Essay on Virgil's Georgics:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| seme | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| seams | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
devil seam · seamster · seamhead · coal seam · seamfree · outseam · seamlet · seamless · seamline · felled seam · enseam · interseam · French seam · princess seam · four-seam fastball · seam lace · standing seam · seamstress · monk's seam · inseam · overseam · Bermuda seam · double lock standing seam · seamy · seam carving · sideseam · flat-fell seam · seam allowance · flat-felled seam · seam presser · two-seam fastball · field seam · quarter seam · seam set · seamlike
Translations (118)
ang sēam (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · it costura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · gv whaaley (suture) · de Schicht (thin stratum of mineral) · bg жила (thin stratum of mineral) · la sūtūra (suture) · gv whaaley (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · fa درز (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · pt costura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · ota دیكیش (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · sh šȁv (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · sk šev (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · lt siūlė̃ (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · wa costeure (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · hy կար (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · izh ompelos (suture) · sv söm (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · es costurón (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · scn custura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · ru шов (suture) · fi sauma (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · it cicatrice (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · mi morua (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · de Saum (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · sl šiv (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · scn ntacca (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · pt sutura (suture) · pt filão (thin stratum of mineral) · cy llygad (thin stratum of mineral) · de Narbe (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · izh ompelikki (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · nb søm (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · pt veio (thin stratum of mineral) · fi ommel (suture) · ru шов (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · tr armuz (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material) · fi suoni (thin stratum of mineral) · fi juonne (thin stratum of mineral) · da søm (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · ru рубец (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · ba йөй (suture) · mk шев (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · mi hiki (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material) · pt junta (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material) · la cicatrix (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · sh ша̏в (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · pdt Soom (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · ba ек (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · scn sinna (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · cmn 縫 /缝 (suture) · hu varrat (suture) · fr couture (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · vec cuxidura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · bg белег (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · pl pokład (thin stratum of mineral) · hu varrat (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · ro cusătură (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · fr veine (thin stratum of mineral) · ga éasc (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · izh ompelikki (suture) · ar دَرْز (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · pl szew (suture) · nn saum (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · cy gwythïen (thin stratum of mineral) · fr suture (suture) · be шво (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · pl szew (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · it cucitura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · ba йөй (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · de Flöz (thin stratum of mineral) · scn cusitura (suture) · ga siúnta (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material) · hy կար (suture) · bg шев (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · es costura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · wa costeure (suture) · bg шев (suture) · it sutura (suture) · mi maurua (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · izh ompelos (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · scn cicatrici (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · es cosedura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · cs šev (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · scn cusitura (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · he תפר (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · hu varrás (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · de Naht (suture) · da sutur (suture) · ru флец (thin stratum of mineral) · nl naad (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · uk про́шарок (thin stratum of mineral) · uk шов (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · cmn 接縫 /接缝 (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · wa rakeudaedje (suture) · it filone (thin stratum of mineral) · fur cusidure (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · es veta (thin stratum of mineral) · ja 縫合 (suture) · fr cicatrice (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · ga síog (thin stratum of mineral) · ja 縫い目 (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · lb Sam (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · ota آرموز (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material) · pt cicatriz (a line or depression left by a cut or wound) · de Naht (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · fi tikkaus (suture) · scn sutura (suture) · th ตะเข็บ (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · grc ῥαφή (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · bg сглобка (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material) · nb sammenføyning (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material) · it vena (thin stratum of mineral) · cy haen(en) (thin stratum of mineral) · uk пласт (thin stratum of mineral) · mi hiki (folded back and stitched piece of fabric) · da søm (suture) · cmn 縫合 /缝合 (suture) · fr jointure (a joint formed by mating two separate sections of a material)