oakum
2 synonyms for oakum, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — Rough fibres combed out of flax or hemp while preparing it for spinning.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
Came into English from Late Middle English okom, okome (“oakum”), and other forms, which developed from Old English ācumba (“oakum”, literally “that which has been combed out, off-combings”), and other forms, from ācemban (“to comb out”). This in turn goes back to Proto-Germanic *uz- (from Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-, *...
Full origin of oakum →