cam meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

cam

noun

CA, US /ˈkeə̯m/ · /ˈkæm/

Etymology PIE word *ǵómbʰos Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵembʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos Proto-Germanic *kambaz Proto-West Germanic ᚲᚨᛒᚨ Proto-West Germanic *kamb Old Dutch *kamb Middle Dutch kamp Dutch kamder. English cam Recorded since the 16th century, from Dutch kam (“cog of a wheel; originally, comb”) (cognate with English comb, and preserved in modern Dutch compounds such as kamrad, kamwiel (“cog wheel”)). Doublet of comb.

A turning or sliding piece which imparts motion to a rod, lever or block brought into sliding or rolling contact with it.

A curved wedge, movable about an axis, used for forcing or clamping two pieces together.

UK, Dialectal A ridge or mound of earth.

Cum doun t' cam' soid1861, Dean Ramsay, Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character:

Climbing, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A spring-loaded camming device, a spring-loaded device for effecting a temporary belay in a rock crevice.

Derived terms: cam band, cambelt, cambox, cam out, camshaft, camwheel, heart cam, overhead cam, rock cam, twincam, twin-cam, variable cam timing

cam

verb

Etymology Clipping of camera.

To go on webcam with someone.

cam

noun

Etymology Clipping of camera.

Informal Camera.

A bootleg recording of a film recorded in a movie theater.

Derived terms: 46 terms
beachcam, bibcam, birdcam, bodycam, camback, camboy, camcorder, camgirl, cammer, camming, camphone, camsite, camwhore, camwhoring, copcam, crittercam, cubcam, dashcam, dash cam, face cam, facecam, fancam, fishcam, handicam, headcam, helmetcam, holocam, hovercam, kiss cam, minicam, nanny cam, nanocam, nestcam, netcam, phonecam, recam, security cam, shakycam, skycam, SnorriCam, spycam, Steadicam, stump cam, trailcam, videocam, webcam

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.