Meanings
- uncountableNorth Carolina Outer Banks dialectSmooth water.
"It's slick cam out here this morning," my father said, using the waterman's phrase for totally calm.
2007, Terry L. Noble, Starting at Sea Level, →ISBN, page 713 more examples
'It's a very slick cam out there today so oi don't expect you Dingbatters got very quamish?' enquired the Capt Birdseye lookalike at Ocracoke Island harbour.
2009, Country Life, volume 203, page 58“Looks like slick cam today, Cap'n.” Charles stared straight up at her. “Slick what?” “Slick cam. It means the water's as smooth as glass. I told you they speak differently over here.”
2013, Anna Gill, The Island Woman: A Chesapeake Story, →ISBN, page 160"Suit yourself. It'll be near two hours afore I head back. The Sound is slick cam today. Should be a smooth trip over to the island."
2013, Anola Pickett, Whisper Island, →ISBN
Origin
The second word is possibly related to calm.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
slick cam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slick%20cam
“slick cam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slick%20cam. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slick cam,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slick%20cam.
Source: slick cam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.