oakum
oak·um/ˈoʊk(ə)m/noun
oakum is spelled O-A-K-U-M: 5 letters and 2 syllables (oak·um). It appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, oakum means “Coarse fibres separated by hackling from flax or hemp when preparing the latter for spinning” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of oakum is oakums.
How many letters and syllables are in oakum?
| Letters | 5: O-A-K-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: oak·um |
| In writing | about once in every 31 million words; the 169,822nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is oakum?
Oakum appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce oakum?
- UK /ˈəʊkəm/
- US /ˈoʊk(ə)m/
Oakum has 2 syllables, split oak·um in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-oakum.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of oakum
- oakums plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does oakum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Coarse fibres separated by hackling from flax or hemp when preparing the latter for spinning.
- 2
Fibres chiefly obtained by untwisting old rope, which are used to caulk or pack gaps between boards of wooden ships and joints in masonry and plumbing, and sometimes for dressing wounds.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Oakum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fibres chiefly obtained by untwisting old rope which are used to caulk, etc:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does oakum come from?
From Late Middle English okom, okome (“oakum”) [and other forms], from Old English ācumba (“oakum”, literally “that which has been combed out, off-combings”) [and other forms], from ācemban (“to comb out”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (from Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-, *ūd- (“out; up”), or *h₂ew- (“away from, off”)) + *kambijaną (“to comb”) (ultimately from *ǵómbʰos (“row of teeth; tooth; peg”), *ǵembʰ- (“nail; tooth; to gnaw through; to pierce”)). See also out and comb.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).