The story
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂leyH-“to smear”
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*laimaz
- Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*laim
- Old English · inherited fromlām“clay, mud, mire, earth”
- Middle English · inherited fromlom
- English todayloam
From Middle English lom, lome, from Old English lām (“clay, mud, mire, earth”), from Proto-West Germanic *laim, from Proto-Germanic *laimaz, *laimô (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Leem (“loam”), West Frisian liem (“loam”), Dutch leem (“loam”), German Lehm (“loam”). Related also to lime.
Words from the same roots
Old Englishlām all →
Lambourne
Proto-Indo-European*h₂leyH- all →
lime
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.