dam English · revision 7106

+ English has two words spelled dam: a barrier holding back water, of Germanic origin, and the mother of an animal, a variant of [[dame]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdæm/ ''(UK)''; /ˈdæm/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|barrier holding back water}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1325|origins=gem-pro *dammaz}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[bor|non|dammr]] or Middle Dutch [[m|dum|dam]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from Proto-Germanic *dammaz, source also of Old Frisian damm and German [[m|de|Damm]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is perhaps also from or reinforced by the Old English verb fordemman, to stop up.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The body of water held back by a dam: about 1325–40;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the barrier itself probably before 1400, about 1440 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) It appears earlier in mill-dam (12th century) and as a surname (1230).^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A beavers' dam is from 1748, and a causeway through fens from 1809.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense is from 1602.^(OED 1989) The verb, to obstruct a flow with a dam, is from about 1400.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) In Yorkshire and elsewhere the water held back is still called the dam.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 12th century – mill-dam.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1230 – Dam, a surname.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1325 – the water held back.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – the barrier; the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1748 – a beaver dam.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A barrier built across a river or stream to hold back water, as to form a [[reservoir]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A reservoir or body of water held back by such a barrier.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To build a dam across; to hold back by a dam.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mill-dam]]

+ * [[cofferdam]]

+ * [[beaver dam]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|mother of an animal}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=c. 1200}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a variant of [[dame]], lady, mother.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A mother, or a mother superior: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'';^(Barnhart 1988) as dame, before 1325.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ At first dam was used in all the senses of dame (lady, female ruler, housewife, mother),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) but the two forms diverged by the 16th century, and since then any use of dam for women has been slighting.^(Etymonline) The mother of a four-footed animal, especially of horses and cattle, is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a mother.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – an animal's mother.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – the forms dam and dame diverge.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The female parent of an animal, especially a domestic [[mammal]] such as a horse.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dame]]

+ * [[madam]]

+ * [[dike]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}