OAKUM • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Oakum

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Oakum

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.

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Etymology of 'Oakum'

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"Oakum" Quotes from Famous Books

... carried out. Bird had brought some oakum, which was forced in between the seams with a chisel, and as the party surveyed their work, they had reason to hope that the boat would ...

— The Three Admirals • W.H.G. Kingston

... that time, "I want Will to come with me to make a little search for that old boat we were told could be found hidden under a shelving rock near the shore. It hasn't been used for some years, and is apt to be in poor shape, but I've got some oakum and a calking tool. With those, I hope to put it in condition, so with frequent baling we can use it on ...

— The Outdoor Chums at Cabin Point - or The Golden Cup Mystery • Quincy Allen

... at country work; but you don't like the sight of human beings in your fields; you like better to see a smoking kettle. You pay, as an amateur, for that pleasure, and you employ your fifty men in picking oakum, or begging, rioting, ...

— The Crown of Wild Olive • John Ruskin

... who was sitting by the roadside cooling his blistered heels in a little runnel of clear water, and crying quietly to himself as he tried to rid his fingers of the tar which stuck to them after his workhouse morning's experience of oakum picking. I sat down beside him and offered him a fill of tobacco, and by and by got into talk with him. He was a man of some intelligence and education, and had begun life as a journeyman watchmaker. He had risen to be an ...

— Recollections • David Christie Murray

... idiotulo. Oak kverko. Oakum stupo. Oar remilo. Oasis oazo. Oath (legal) jxuro. Oath (curse) blasfemo. Oatmeal grio. Obduracy obstineco. Obdurate obstina. Obedience obeo. Obedient obea. Obeisance riverenco. Obelisk obelisko. Obese grasega. Obesity vastkorpeco. Obey obei. Obituary ...

— English-Esperanto Dictionary • John Charles O'Connor and Charles Frederic Hayes

... this system, the tank itself can be as near the house as ten or fifteen feet but the piping connecting it with the soil line of the plumbing should be water tight. The best way is to use four-inch cast iron pipe, calking all joints with oakum and lead. At a convenient point between house and tank, this line of pipe should have a "clean-out" fitting so that rags, solidified grease, or other substances that might block it can be removed. Sometimes ...

— If You're Going to Live in the Country • Thomas H. Ormsbee and Richmond Huntley

Words linked to "Oakum" : fiber, fibre