cement English · revision 14909

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la caedō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɪˈment/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|siment]], [[bor|fro|ciment|t=cement, mortar, pitch]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|caementum|t=rough unhewn stone, quarry stone]], in the plural chips of stone for making mortar,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from earlier [[m|la|*caedmentum]],^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|caedō|t=to cut, hew]] (see [[concise]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*kae-id-|t=to strike]].^(Etymonline) The spelling cement, from before 1398, follows [[frm|cément]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A substance used to bind the stones or bricks of a building: probably before 1300, as cyment, in Kyng Alisaunder;^(Barnhart 1988) about 1300 in the OED and Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The change from broken stones to powdered stone for building happened before the word reached English.^(Etymonline) Cement was at first the material added to mortar to make something closer to concrete.^(Cresswell 2021) Any substance that sticks surfaces together is from 1562, and figuratively a principle of union from 1606.^(OED 1989) The verb is from about 1400,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and its figurative sense, to unite firmly, from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The bony crust of a tooth's root is from 1849–52,^(OED 1989) and ''cement mixer'' from 1875.^(Etymonline) The noun was stressed on the first syllable until modern times; it is now usually stressed like the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – building cement.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1398 – the spelling cement.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – to cement (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1562 – any adhesive.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1606 – a bond (figurative).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1875 – cement mixer.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fine grey powder of [[calcine|alt=calcined]] limestone and clay, mixed with water and sand to make [[mortar]], or with aggregate to make [[concrete]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A binder, glue or [[adhesive]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that unites or joins; a bond.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(dentistry)'' Any of various materials used to fill teeth.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(geology)'' Mineral matter that binds together particles of rock.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To bind with cement, or as if with it.^(AHD)

+ # To cover or coat with cement.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cementer]]

+ * [[cementable]]

+ * [[cementless]]

+ * [[cementation]]

+ * [[cementite]]

+ * [[ferrocement]]

+ * [[recement]]

+ * [[asbestos cement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[concise]]

+ * [[excise]]

+ * [[incise]]

+ * [[decide]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}