cam English · revision 7827

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1777|origins=nl kam}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kæm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[bor|nl|kam|t=comb, cog of a wheel]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023) as in kamrad, cogwheel,^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *kambaz, comb (see [[comb]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE [[ine-pro|*ǵembʰ-|alt=*gembh-|t=tooth, nail]].^(Etymonline) MWU and Barnhart also suggest French came, from German Kamm,^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) and the word may have been influenced by, or be short for, [[camber]], a slight arch.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A projecting part of a rotating piece of machinery that imparts motion to another part: 1777.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED notes that the original method was by cogs or teeth fixed at points round the rim of a wheel.^(Etymonline) A cam converts regular rotary motion into irregular or reciprocating motion.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The ''camshaft'' is attested from 1850.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1777 – a machine cam.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1850 – camshaft.^(Etymonline)

+ * by 1990 – cam, a camera.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An eccentric or curved wheel or projection on a rotating [[shaft]], used to give a reciprocating or variable motion to a part it touches.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[camshaft]]

+ * [[webcam]]

+ * [[minicam]]

+ * [[camcorder]]

+ * [[heart cam]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[comb]]

+ * [[camber]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Cam is also a recent clipping of [[camera]] (by 1990).^(Etymonline) An unrelated dialect cam, crooked, awry (16th century), is probably from Welsh [[m|cy|cam|t=crooked]],^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989) and a northern dialect cam is a ridge or earthen bank (1788).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}