Etymology

dam

D2A1M3

Today it means: A structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow or part of the flow, generally for purposes such as retaining or diverting some of the water or retarding the release of accumulated water to avoid abrupt flooding. Full definition →

Middle English dam ← Old English *damm ← Proto-West Germanic *damm
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dam · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*dammaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*damm
  3. Old English · inherited from*damm
  4. Middle English · inherited fromdam
  5. English todaydam

From Middle English dam, from Old English *damm, from Proto-West Germanic *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

dam · noun2

Variant of dame. Doublet of domina and donna.

dam · noun3

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromδραχμή
  2. Sanskrit · derived fromद्रम्म
  3. Sauraseni Prakrit · derived from𑀤𑀫𑁆𑀫“coin”
  4. Hindi · derived fromदाम
  5. English todaydam

From Hindi दाम (dām), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀤𑀫𑁆𑀫 (damma, “coin”), from Sanskrit द्रम्म (drammá), from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ). Doublet of drachm, drachma, and dram. Alternatively said to be possibly coined from the English phrase "I don't give a dam(n)," referring to its small worth.

dam · interjection, adjective4

Pronunciation spelling of damn.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekδραχμή all →

dramdirhamadarmediramdirhemfluid drachm

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.