▪ I. seam, n.1
(siːm)
Forms: 1 seam, 4–5 sem, 4–6 seme, (4 seem), 4–6, 8 seyme, (6 seym), 6–7 seame, 5– seam.
[Com. Teut.: OE. séam masc. = OFris. sâm, MDu. sôm (Du. zoom), OHG. soum hem (MHG., mod.G. saum), ON. saum-r seam (Sw. söm, Da. s{obar}m):—OTeut. *saumo-z, f. *sau- ablaut-variant of su- (cf. L. suĕre to sew), by-form of Indogermanic *syu- in OE. s{iacu}wian to sew, Skr. syūman seam.]
I. Suture, junction.
1. a. The junction made by sewing together the edges of two pieces or widths of cloth, leather, etc.; the ridge or the furrow in the surface which indicates the course of such a junction; sometimes (cf. seamy a.) the protuding edges of the joined pieces on the wrong side of the cloth.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 254 And heoldon his tunecan untoslitene, forðan ðe heo wæs eal buton seame. 1382 Wyclif John xix. 23 Forsothe the coote was with out seem, and aboue wouun bi al. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 11174 A man may se to sow a sem In the furthest of the chirche A-boute mydnyght. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 201 Hire crowpe doth the semys shrede, Whan they so streyght lasyd been. 1577 Harrison England ii. vii. in Holinshed, Then must the long seames of our hose be set by a plumb-line. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 169 They weare short cloakes..with one small lace to cover the seames. 1630 Drayton Muses Eliz. viii. 75 And euery Seame the Nimphs shall sew With th' smallest of the Spinners Clue. 1723 Lond. Gaz. No. 6150/3 A white great Coat,..with two Gussits in the Shoulder-Seam. 1842 [see fell v. 6]. 1843 Hood Song of Shirt iii, Seam, and gusset, and band. 1885 J. B. Leno Boot & Shoemaking ix. 76 The Oxonian or Oxford Shoe..was formerly closed with a flat seam. |
† b. Surg. The joining of the edges of a wound by sewing.
Obs.| 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. L ij b, Demaunde, Howe many and what maners are there of seames: Answere, Thre, that is a seam incarnatyfe... The other seame sowyng hyght restrayntyfe of blode... The thyrde is called the seame of conseruatyfe..made..to mayntayne the lyppes tyll the wounde be closed. 1541 ― Galyen's Terap. 2 G ij b, All the great vlceres ought to be conioyned, eyther by seames or by byndyng. |
c. An embellished seaming used in joining costly fabrics; an ornamental strip of material inserted in or laid over a seam; also, material for this purpose.
| c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 552 Þei ben y-sewed wiþ whiȝt silk & semes full queynte, Y-stongen wiþ stiches þat stareþ as siluer. 1496–7 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 33 A ffyne Corporas..with semys of gold. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 208 b, The semes of the same wer covered with brode wrethes, of goldsmithes worke. 1687 Wood Life 3 Sept. (O.H.S.) III. 230 The king..with an old French course hat on edged with a little seem of lace. 1833 T. Hook Parson's Dau. ii. vi, A small..‘page’ to aunt Eleanor..who in that character..wore red seams down his pantaloons. |
d. fig. Also in
colloq. phrases, as
to burst (fall apart, etc.) at the seams.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶42 Chidynge and reproche..vnsowen the semes of freendshipe in mannes herte. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet Lyly's Wks. 1902 III. 412 Hee runnes ouer his fooleries with a knaues gallop, ripping vp the souterlie seames of his Epistle. 1608 Shakes. Per. ii. i. 156 Sec. Fish[erman]... T'was wee that made vp this Garment [a coat of armour] through the rough seames of the Waters. 1693 Addison Ess. Virg. Georgics Wks. 1721 I. 250 Precepts..should be so finely wrought together in the same piece, that no coarse seam may discover where they join. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 124 One or two of Horace's purple rags, botched together with coarse seams of abuse, will gain prodigious applause. 1962 Ross & Singer Guilty Party in Plays of Year XXIV. 74 You were bursting at the seams a little. Can we ease the strain for you? 1965 J. Von Sternberg Fun in Chinese Laundry (1966) ii. 43 In a few instances when I thought that I would come apart at the seams..I managed to make the director listen. 1969 ‘V. Packer’ Don't rely on Gemini (1970) xv. 131 He had begun to fall apart at the seams—to imagine..that the stars..were conspiring against him. 1977 Times 30 Apr. 9/6 My marriage..came apart at the seams. |
† e. transf. An intervening strip.
Obs.| 1678 Marvell Growth Popery 44 There is yet a Seam of Land between the French and us [the Dutch]. |
f. Cricket. The raised band of stitching around the centre of a ball.
Cf. seam bowler, sense 10 below.
| 1888 Steel & Lyttelton Cricket iii. 119 The ball is usually, by a slow bowler, grasped firmly with all the fingers resting on the seam, as this gives more purchase and resistance for the fingers to operate. 1906 F. R. Spofforth in Beldam & Fry Great Bowlers & Fielders 10 It is almost impossible to swerve unless the seam of the ball is up and down. 1948 C. Sly How to bowl them Out x. 75 The ball..resembles the planet Saturn in that it has a ring or projecting ridge round its waist..known as the seam. 1972 R. Illingworth Young Cricketer iii. 50 Grip the ball with the seam upright... Angle the seam to fine leg and not to third man. |
g. French seam (Needlework), a double-stitched seam that is folded and sewn to resemble a plain seam on the right side.
| 1903 Home Fashions 12 Sept. 18/3 The sleeve is joined by French seam. 1964 McCall's Sewing 276/1 After cutting the panels, join them with tiny French seams. |
† 2. Anat. The line of junction of two bones forming an immovable joint,
esp. in the skull; a suture.
Obs.| c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 379 Cerebrum, seam þære heafodpannan. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 108 Þe semis þat ben of þe brayn panne. 1552 Udall tr. Geminus' Anat. B vij b, The places where the bones do close together maye be called the seames. 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 91 If the offence of the Pericranium be in the suture or seam it is more dangerous [etc.]. 1653 [see lambdoidal a. 1]. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xxii. 55 It hath a line..which divides it into a right and left part, and is called a suture or seam. |
3. An interstice formed by the abutting edges of planks; a narrow crevice between the edges and ends of the planks or plates of a ship. Chiefly
pl.| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 20 Wyrc þe nu ænne arc,..ᵹehref hit eall, and ᵹeclæm ealle þa seamas mid tyrwan. 1497 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 294 Payed for..here & Scye..layed in the Semys of the seid Ship. a 1618 [see caulk v. 1]. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. cxlvii, With boiling pitch, another near at hand,..the seams instops. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. viii. 78 The ship..let in the water at every seam. 1790 Cowper On Rec. Mother's Picture 103 Sails ript, seams op'ning wide, and compass lost. 1844 Hood Haunted House ii. xxv, The floor was redolent of mould and must, The fungus in the rotten seams had quicken'd. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 820/1 When the planks are fastened, the seams or the intervals between the edges of the strakes are filled with oakum. |
4. A line, groove, furrow or the like formed by the abutting edges of two parts of a thing; an indentation or mark resembling this.
a. on a surface of rock, stone, etc.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13976 Þe blod ran þer as water stremes In chynes, in creuesses, & in semes. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 555 As þe beryl bornyst byhouez be clene, Þat is sounde on vche a syde & no sem habes. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 134 That which at first seemed to be seams or joynings of the Stones, are only veins in the Rock. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xli. 314 Shaggy pines hung top downwards, clinging in their [sc. rocks'] seams. 1874 Symonds Sk. Italy & Greece (1898) I. xi. 212 The seams between the layers of bricks..yield no point of vantage to the penknife. 1876 Page Advd. Text-bk. Geol. v. 91 The line that marks this separation between two strata is the seam or line of bedding. |
b. on the face or body:
† A long incised wound;
† the parting (of the hair); a scar (of a healed wound); a deep wrinkle.
| c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 5631 In his front he him smot, The blod start out fot hot, He set on him a foule seme. 1585 Higins Junius' Nomencl. 24 Discrimen capillorum,..the seame of the head or parting of the haire. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 72 [They] looking backward..Saw seams of wounds,..In contemplation of whose ugly scars They cursed the memory of civil wars. 1765 Goldsm. Double Transform. 86 In vain she tries her paste and creams, To smooth her skin or hide its seams. 1800 Med. Jrnl. III. 263 Those irregular marks, or seams, found after other applications, are not to be met with after the turpentine. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam xii. x, The seams Of his rent heart..a creed Had seared with blistering ice. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge i, A deep gash, now healed into an ugly seam. 1875 Buckland Log-Bk. 59 No seams are preceptible in the features. |
c. Nat. Hist. (
a)
Bot. (see
quot. 1796); (
b)
Conchol. (see
quot. 1816).
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 94 b, Wallnuttes..are set in the ground..the seame downeward, about the beginning of March. 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) I. 79 Seam, the line formed by the union of the valves of a seed-vessel. Ibid. 226 Berry not unlike a capsule,..coat very thin, opening by various seams. 1816 T. Brown Elem. Conchol. 163 Seam, the line formed by the union of the valves. |
† d. Farriery = false quarter: see
false a. 7 a.
| 1610 Markham Masterp. ii. lxx. 334 A False Quarter is a rift or open back seame..in..the hoofe. 1682 Lond. Gaz. No. 1712/4 Stolen.., two Gray Geldings, one..with Seams in his Heel. 1759 T. Wallis Farrier's Dict., Seams, or Seyms, in horses, are certain clefts in their quarters. |
e. Agric. A furrow, (seed) drill.
| 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 153 The grassfield is ploughed before winter; it is harrowed thereafter, when the grass begins to shoot up in the seams. 1893 Surrey Gloss. s.v., You've no call to drill it, you've got a capital seam... I don't care for no seam, so long as I can bury the seed. |
f. dial. (See
quot.)
| 1870 H. Stevenson Birds Norf. II. 311 The rest of the ground, from which the turf is cut, consists of alternate ridges or ‘seams’ of peat, and wide trenches. |
g. nonce-use. Applied to a streak of lightning.
| 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. v. 41 The seams of lightning which ran through the heavens. |
5. Geol. A thin layer or stratum separating two strata of greater magnitude.
| 1592 Sc. Acts Jas. VI (1814) III. 556/2 Quhensoeuir ony myne or seme of mettaill wes found be ony of the leigis of this realme. 1684 Phil. Trans. XVII. 741 The Seam or Vein of Copper-Ore. a 1728 Woodward Nat. Hist. Fossils i. (1729) I. 166, I observ'd a Termination of a Seam, as they call it in the North, or a Stratum of Coal, where it divided into several thin Plates. 1794 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 381 The seams are of a darker colour. 1815 Bakewell Introd. Geol. 179 Numerous beds or seams of coal occur in one coal field. 1851 Mantell Petrifactions iii. §5. 304 The Kentish-rag is seen in nearly horizontal layers, separated by thin seams of loose sand. |
6. a. A joint used in uniting the edges of sheet metal either by folding and pressing them together or by joining them with solder; also, the line produced by this process.
false seam: see
quot. 1881.
| 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 634 The method of joining by seams..consists in simply bending the approximate edges of the lead up and over each other, and then dressing them down close to the flat. 1855 Franke Beil's Technol. Dict. II. 451 Seam of a musket barrel (the jagged line produced by welding), die Schweissnath. Soudure. 1881 F. Campin Mech. Engin. ii. 32 When the casting is quite cool the false seams formed at the junctions of the mould are chipped off. 1882 W. J. Christy Joints 203 When the plumber forms pipes of large diameter out of sheet lead the seam is soldered. |
b. Metallurgy. A superficial linear defect on worked metal
usu. caused by closure of a blow hole.
| c 1840 B. Legge Guide to Iron Trade 36 Having sems [sic] in a longitudinal direction. 1923 Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics V. 362/2 These surfaces become oxidised both during cooling of the ingot and during reheating for forging or rolling, and give rise to rokes or seams. 1924 Greaves & Wrighton Pract. Microsc. Metallogr. ix. 78 Seams show a similar microscopical appearance to rokes and are caused in rolling billets or bars by one portion of the metal folding over another. 1967 A. K. Osborne Encycl. Iron & Steel Industry (ed. 2) 373/2 Seams may also be caused by rippled surfaces or by recurrent teeming laps. |
7. Knitting. [transferred use of 1.] A line of purled stitches (see
purl v.
1 4) down the leg of a stocking, simulating the appearance of a joining. Also short for
seam-stitch.
| a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia s.v. Purle, The seams of stockings..are purled. 1849 E. Copley Compr. Knitting-bk. 12 In stocking knitting, the 1st method [of reducing the number of stitches] is employed when a narrowing is required just before what is called the ‘seam’. 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 286/1 Seam, a name given to Purl Knitting, but usually indicating the one Purled Stitch down the leg of a stocking that forms the seam. |
8. (See
quot.)
| 1867 Ure's Dict. Arts II. 286 Such also are the rags known technically as ‘seams’; being the clippings which fall from woollen rags under the scissors of the sorters. |
II. 9. [
Cf. ON. saumar pl.; also
OE. séamere tailor.] Sewing, needlework; also in
phr. † work of seam.
white seam, plain needlework.
Obs. exc. dial.| a 1400 Octouian 1865 Y dwellede yn Jerusalem With kyng and quene, And taught her maydenys werk of sem. 1581 Nicol Burne's Disput. 189 b, From threid, seyme, and neidil, To danse at the feidil. 1594 Lyly Mother Bombie i. iii, It is you that goe about to match your girle with my boy, shee beeing more fit for seames than for marriage. 1738 in Fasti Aberd. (1854) 447 The want of an accomplished gentlewoman for teaching white and coloured seam. c 1786 Burns Answ. to Ep. Tailor ii, Gae mind your seam, ye prick-the-louse! 1818 S. E. Ferrier Marriage xiv, With..a large work-bag well stuffed with white-seam, she took her place. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. ii. v. 123 Citoyennes who bring their seam with them, or their knitting-needles. 1882 Harper's Mag. June 117 He asked her to put down her seam, and come for a walk. |
III. 10. Comb.:
seam allowance, the amount of material in sewing which is calculated to be taken in by a seam;
† seam-biter Sc. (jocular), a tailor;
seam-blast (see
quot.);
† seam-bone, each of the bones connected by the lambdoidal suture;
seam bowler Cricket, a medium or fast bowler who uses the seam to make the ball deviate in the air or off the pitch during delivery; hence
seam-bowling;
seam hammer,
joint (see
quots.);
seam-lace (Webster, 1864)
= seaming lace (see
seaming vbl. n.);
seam-presser, (
a) (see
quot.); (
b) a tailor's goose for pressing seams (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1875);
† seam-rend v. [back-formation from
seam-rent adj.]
trans., to tear apart at the seams;
† seamrent n. rare—0 (see
quot. 1755);
seam-rent a., rent or torn apart at the seams,
lit. and
fig.; (of a person) having torn garments;
seamrept,
-ripped pa. pple. and ppl. a., ripped or torn apart at the seams;
seam-rip (see
quot.);
seam-roller, (
a) (see
quot.); (
b)
= seam presser (a) (Ogilvie, 1882);
seam rubber,
set (see
quots.);
seam-squirrel U.S. slang (chiefly
Mil.), a louse;
seam-stitch (see 7 above)
= purl-stitch (
purl n.1 5);
seam welding, a form of resistance welding in which a linear weld is obtained by means of rolling disc-shaped electrodes which produce a line of overlapping welds (see also
quot. 1964); so
seam-weld v. trans.; also
seam weld n.;
seam welder, a machine for
seam welding.
| 1949 I. R. Duncan Compl. Sewing Book xv. 301 Plain seams may be used for every type of garment... The amount of *seam allowance depends upon the material; generally from 3/8 to ½ an inch is required. 1964 McCall's Sewing 277/1 Press fold formed along edge of seam allowance. 1977 R. Richardson Discovering Patchwork 63/2 Window templates made of clear plastic with a shaded area round the edge... The shaded area is the seam allowance. |
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxvii. 10 The tailȝeour, baith with speir and scheild, Convoyit wes vnto the feild, With mony lymmar loun, Off *seme byttaris. |
| 1860 Worcester (citing Hale), *Seam-blast, a blast made by filling with powder the seams or crevices made by a previous drill-blast. |
| 1576 Baker Jewell of Health 170 b, Take the hinder *seame bones of dead men named Sutura lamdoides) those put into calcyning. |
| 1948 J. Arlott How to watch Cricket iii. 14 The term ‘*seam-bowler’ is almost identical [with ‘pace bowler’] since it refers to those bowlers who use the seam to swing, or cut the ball. 1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War xliv. 414, I had previously not believed such tales as the swinging of cricket balls by seam bowlers. |
| 1956 R. Alston Test Commentary 136 Johnson persisted in a *seam-bowling attack. 1976 Dexter & Makins Testkill 174 The steady England pressure which was now resting on the excellent seam bowling of Kirkstead. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Seam-hammer (Coppersmithing), a creasing hammer for flattening seams and joints. |
| 1882 W. J. Christy Joints 202 [Plumbers' Joints.] *Seam Joint is a mode of uniting the edges of sheets of metal by means of a seam. |
| 1843 Ransome Implem. Agric. 96 The *seam presser is, in fact, an abstract of a drill-roller, consisting of but two cylinders of cast iron, which, following the plough in the furrows, press and roll down the newly turned up earth. |
| 1647 Ward Simple Cobler 76, I have here and there taken a few finish stitches..; but I cannot now well pull them out, unlesse I should *seame⁓rend all. |
| 1755 Johnson, *Seamrent, a separation of any thing where it is joined, a breach of the stitches. |
| 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Luke iv. 31–7 Workes forbidden [on the Sabbath] as..to botche vp theyr garment beeyng broken or *seamerent. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. ii. vi, I wonder at you..that you can consort your selues with such poore seame-rent fellowes. 1605 Rowlands Hell's Broke Loose 39 Our seame-rent Souldiers are exceeding bare. 1622 Massinger & Dekker Virg. Mart. iii. iii, All my hopes are seame-rent, and go wetshod. 1866 [R. Hallam] Wadsley Jack ix (E.D.D.), One on 'em fell on me... I wor compleately seam-rent. 1886 Cheshire Gloss., Seam⁓rent, said of a shoe when the upper leather begins to part from the sole. |
| 1625 J. Wodroephe Marrow Fr. Tongue 128 My shirt is all broken, rent, and *seamerept. |
| 1891 Labour Commission Gloss., *Seam Rip, the ripping or tearing of the seams or joints of a boiler, caused by a too sudden expansion or contraction, &c. |
| 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 363 b/2 Which coate of Christian vnitie, abeit of long time it had bene now *seameript before..: yet notwithstanding in some peece it held together in some meane agreement [etc.]. 1621 Quarles Argalus & P. (1678) 93 His seam-ript Garments. 1887 S. Chesh. Gloss., Shem-ripped. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Seam-roller, a burnisher, or rubber, for flattening down the edges of leather where two thicknesses are sewn together. |
| Ibid., *Seam-rubber. 1885 J. B. Leno Boot & Shoemaking xxv. 202 Seam Rubber..for pressing seams in order that they may be made to lie flat. |
| 1841 Hartshorne Salop. Ant., *Seam Set, a grooved wooden instrument used by shoemakers, for smoothing the seams of boots and shoes. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 387 The seam-set for closing the seams [of thin metals]. Ibid. 393 The lap-joint..is set down flat with a seam-set. |
| 1899 J. R. Skinner Hist. Fourth Illinois Volunteers 129 When it was first rumored that the old confederate *seam squirrel had invaded our quarters, a small panic seized many. 1929 L. Thomas Woodfill of Regulars 240 The rest of the boys..stopped chasin' seam-squirrels in their undershirts. a 1956 C. J. Post Little War of Private Post (1960) 255 There is the gray-back, or seam-squirrel, from the days of our Civil War. |
| 1825 Jamieson, Pearl, the *seam-stitch in a knitted stocking. |
| 1920 Whitaker's Electr. Engineer's Pocket-bk. (ed. 4) 646 On light work, about 3 ft. of *seam weld can be made per min. 1980 L. M. Gowd Princ. Welding Technol. xi. 164 After the first weld has been made,..the current must be raised to maintain the size of the welds. Accepting this limitation, satisfactory continuous seam welds can be made. |
| 1921 *Seam welder [see seam welding below]. 1959 Neumann & Bockhoff Welding of Plastics vii. 126 In using high-frequency seam welders, the breakdown strength of the plastic must be considered. 1976 Western Mail (Cardiff) 27 Nov. 6/5 Spot-welders, seam-welders and projection welding machines up to 20 KVA are also among the factory's equipment. |
| 1917 Oberg & Jones Machinery's Encycl. VI. 496/2 By the *seam-welding process, two sheets of wrought iron or steel are welded together along the edge by a continuous lap-weld... Plates can be successfully seam-welded at a rate of about one foot per minute. 1921 Automobile Engineer XI. 108/1 Seam welding..can be adopted with advantage when a tight joint is required.., a seam welder differing from a spot welder mainly in that roller electrodes are used instead of the pointed electrodes. 1964 Wordingham & Reboul Dict. Plastics 158 Seam welding, with thermo⁓plastic materials, the method of forming a welded seam, either by the use of welding rollers..for continuous welding, or by jig welding. 1975 Bram & Downs Manuf. Technol. ii. 62 Seam welding is similar to spot welding, the difference being that the spots overlap each other, making a continuous weld seam. |
▪ II. seam, n.2 (
siːm)
Forms: 1
séam,
Northumb. séom, 3
Ormin sæm, 3–6
seme, 4–7
seem, 4
sem, 5
ceme, (
w. dial.)
zeme, 6
seym(e,
seayme, (
sheme), 6–7
seame, 9
w. dial,
zame,
zeam, 6–
seam.
[OE. séam masc., OHG., MHG. soum (G. saum), a W.Ger. adoption of med.L. sauma, salma, sagma load (a. Gr. σάγµα packsaddle, f. σαγ-, σάττειν to pack, load), whence It. salma, soma burden, Pr. sauma beast of burden, F. somme burden, Sp. salma, jalma tonnage (of a ship).] 1. A pack-horse load.
Obs. exc. dial. In early use also
gen.,
† a load, burden.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xi. 46 Soð he cuoeð & iuh æs wisestum wæ forðon ᵹie semað menn mid seamum [c 975 Rushw. seomum] ðaðe ᵹebeara ne maᵹon. c 1000 ælfric Gram. ix. (Z.) 59, Honus seam oððe byrðen. c 1200 Ormin 3718, & asse..hafeþþ mikell afell To berenn upp well mikell sæm. c 1250 Owl & Night. 775 An hors is strengur þan a mon Ac..berþ on rugge grete semes. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1368 Ðor he leide hise semes [of camels] dun. Ibid. 2373 And .x. asses wið semes fest. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2554 Sum seluer for our semes in þe Cite to gete. 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss. (ed. 2) Cornwall terms, Seam, a horse-load. |
b. The amount of a horse-load; often identified with a definite quantity, varying according to the commodity and locality.
The ‘seam’ of glass is said to be 120 lbs. (in the 14th c. it was 100 lbs.); of grain, 8 bushels; of sand, 6–8 pecks; of apples, 9 pecks.
| 1318 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 373 Item de vitro j seme et di., prec. 10s. a 1325 MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 43 Þe sem of glas contenez of .xx. ston, ant eueri ston of .v. pond. 1339–40 Ely Sacr. Rolls II. 90 In j sem ferri empt...xxiijs. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. iv. 38 For, wot god, þei wolde do more for a dozeine chickenes..or for a seem of otes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 65/2 Ceme, or quarter of corne, quarterium. Ibid. 452/1 Seem. 1459 Yatton Chruchw. Acc. (Somerset Rec. Soc.) 100, xxx zeme of bordys, xij{supd} the zeme, and iij zeme of plangys xij{supd} the zeme. 1531–2 Durham Househ. Bk. (Surtees) 113 Pro cariago j seayme salmonum, 10d. 1536 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., Payd for iij seymis of lyme to ye chymney. 1545 Ludlow Churchw. Acc. (Camden) 23 Item, for a sheme of wood at the makynge of the pascalle..ij d. 1674 S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 80 Glass, by the same Ordinance containeth 1 Seam, 24 Stones, 1 Stone 5 Pounds. 1675 Phil. Trans. X. 294 [Cornwall.] These useful Sands..are fetched..on Horse-back; one Horse carrying about 13 or 14 gallons... Each seime (or hors-load) with the carriage comes to about 8d or 9d. 1679 Blount Anc. Tenures 52 A Seam or Horseload of Oats, which in some places is accounted Eight Bushels, in others perhaps more properly, but four. 1705 Lond. Gaz. No. 4108/3 The Cargo..containing 751 Seams of Barilla. 1813 T. Rudge Agric. Glouc. 224 From ten to eleven ‘seam’, of nine pecks each, of juicy fruit, are generally sufficient for a hogshead of 100 gallons wine measure [of cider]. 1887 Kentish Gloss. s.v., A sack of eight bushels is now called a seam, because that quantity forms a horse-load. |
c. Phrase.
† sack and seam: pack-horse traffic.
| 1631, 1829 [see sack n.1 1 e]. |
2. A cart-load;
esp. a definite amount of 3 cwt. (of hay or manure) or 2 cwt. of straw.
w. dial.| 1726 Brice's Weekly Jrnl. 5 Aug. 4 Several paved Courts, wherein are made a Thousand Seams of Dung every Year. 1856 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 1126 Seam (Devons.), of dung, 3 cwts. 1880 Cornwall Gloss., East Cornw., Seam, or Zeam, a load of hay, manure, &c. It means with us no definite quantity, but a cart-load, waggon load, &c. 1888 ‘Q’ (Quiller-Couch) Troy Town xi, I wants you to..go to beach for ore-weed..an' carry so many seams as you can. |
▪ III. seam, n.3 (
siːm)
Forms: 2–3
seime, 3
seim, 4–5
saym, (5
sayme, 5
sem), 5–6
seme, 6–7
saime,
same, 6, 9
Sc. seyme, 7
seame, 8–9
dial. and
Sc. saim, 7–
seam.
[a. OF. saim (also saime fem.), later sain, mod.Fr. only in saindoux lard; a Com. Rom. word, = Pr. sagin-s, saïns, Catal. sagin, sagi, Sp. sain, It. saime:—popular L. *sagīmen, related to classical L. sagīna fattening, fatness.] † 1. Fat, grease.
Obs.| c 1200 Eadwine's Canterb. Ps. lxii. 6 Swæ swa mid seime & mid fetnesse ȝefelled beoð sawul min. a 1225 Ancr. R. 412 Ȝe ne schulen eten vleschs ne seim buten ine muchele secnesse. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 275 Þer [sc. in the whale's belly] in saym & in sorȝe þat sauoured as helle, þer was bylded his bour. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 46/18 He coryeth his hydes with sayme of heryngs. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. xi. 61 And sum polyst scharp speyr heydis of steyll, To mak thaim brycht wyth fat cresche or same. 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. H iiij b, Mezentereon..is couered..with glandynous grease, and is commonly called seame. 1595 Balliol Coll. Acc. (MS.), Item, for sem for the plumpe..and to Owen for mending of it, xviiid. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. ii. iii. 195 Shall the proud Lord, That bastes his arrogance with his owne seame... Shall he be worshipt. 1613 J. May Est. Clothing v. 27 They will not scoure the same cloth cleane, but leaue a bad substance of oyle and seame in it. 1634 T. Johnson tr. Parey's Wks. iii. vii. 91 And there is another kind of fat, which is called Sevum, seame [orig. L. sepum],..that is much dryer. 1651 J. C. Poems 1 A person of so rare a frame, Her bodie might be lin'd with' same. 1691 Ray Collect. Words 131 Saime, which we pronounce sometimes Seame. It signifies not only Goose-grease, but in general any kind of Grease or Sewet or Oil, wherewith out Clothiers anoint..their Wool. 1697 Dryden æneid vii. 867 Part scour the rusty Sheilds with Seam. |
2. Hogs' lard.
| 1530 Palsgr. 269/1 Seme for to frye with, seyn de povrceau. 1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. (1568) 40 Take..halfe an unce of..Hogges grease or seyme. 1606 Churchw. Acc. Pittington, etc. (Surtees) 287 For a pound of swine's seame to the belles, iiij d. 1788 W. Marshall Yorksh. II. 349 Saim, hogs-lard. 1894 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin vi, The ancient dames were..discussin' the efficacy o' hartshorn an' swine's seam as a cure for the rheumatics. |
▪ IV. seam, n.4 Sc. and
north. Also 5
seme,
seyme, 9 (
Orkney and Shetland)
same.
[Corresponds to ON. saum-r nail (Sw. söm, Da. s{obar}m), perh. identical with saum-r seam n.1 The form represents the
OE. séam seam n.1; the sense is
prob. due to the influence of the
ON. formal equivalent.]
A kind of nail or rivet for fastening the overlapping edges of a clinker-built boat, the end of the nail being clinched on a rove (
rove n.2,
roove n.). Also
seam-nail (
Northumb. Gloss., 1894).
Usually associated with
rove, its counterpart.
| 1406 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 606 Item in exp. Ricardi Couhird..pro seme et Rufe, 2s. 1474–5 Ibid. 645 Cum seme, rove, clavis ferr. et lign., pice, et bitumine [for repairing a ferry-boat]. c 1425 Noah's Ark 26 in Non-Cycle Mystery Plays 20 Bid him go make a ship... All things I him fulfill, Pitch, tar, seam and rowe. 1494 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 253 Item, for thre stane and tua pund of seyme and rufe to the cokbate. Ibid. 254 Seme and ruyf. 1892 [see roove n.]. |
▪ V. † seam, v.1 Obs. In 1
s{yacu}man,
séman, 2–5
seme.
[OE. (*s{iacu}eman), séman, s{yacu}man:—WGer. *saumjan, f. *saumo-z seam n.2] trans. To put a burden on, load, weigh down; also
intr., to weigh heavily.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xi. 46 Ᵹe semað menn mið seamum, ðaðe ᵹebeara ne maᵹon. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xliv. 13 (Gr.) And hiᵹ..symdon hyra assan and cyrdon eft to þære birig. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 93 Ðe asse þe ure helende uppe set ben þo forsinegede..and sinne hem is loð to leten..for hem þincheð þat godes hese heuieliche semeð. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1365 Ten kameles semeð [? read semed] forð he nam. c 1315 Shoreham Poems 82 Þo þat me oppone hys swete body þe heuye crouche semde. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 211 A man þat was..takyn wyt enmyes,..and was semot wyth yerns also mony as he myȝt bere. |
▪ VI. seam, v.2 (
siːm)
[f. seam n.1] 1. a. trans. To sew the seam or seams of; to fasten or join
on,
together,
up with a seam or seams.
| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 100 There too watrye Iuno, the chaplayne Seams vp thee bedmatch. 1599 Dekker Shoem. Holiday i. i, Here take this pair of shoes, cut out by Hodge, Stiched by my fellow Firk, seamed by myself. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 93 All linings are seamed on. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. i. xviii, Some made the gloves; that is, seamed the fingers together and put in the thumbs. |
| absol. 1905 M. Barnes-Grundy Vacill. Hazel xix, I was seaming with black cotton. |
† b. To furnish or ornament with an inserted seam; also, of a material, to serve as a seam for.
| 1590 Greene Mourn. Garm. (1616) 11 His coat was greene, With welts of white, seamde betweene. 1604 Meeting of Gallants B 2 b, There was not so much Veluet stirring, as would haue..seamde a Lieftenants Buffe-doublet. a 1625 Beaum. & Fl. Four Plays in One, Tri. Time i, She shew'd me gowns and head-tires, imbroider'd wastcoats, smocks seam'd thorow with cut-works. 1740 Somerville Hobbinol i. 218 This Pair of Gloves, by curious Virgin Hands Embroider'd, seam'd with Silk, and fring'd with Gold. |
c. intr. To sew.
dial.| 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. v. 104 The widow immediately went on seaming. 1886 Cheshire Gloss., Seam, to sew a seam. |
d. Knitting.
trans. and intr. To form a seam-stitch; to make a seam or seam-stitch in (a piece of knitting).
| 1842 F. Lambert Hand-bk. Needlewk. xvii. 303 [Knitting.] To seam, to knit a stitch with the cotton before the needle. 1886 E. L. Bynner A. Surriage xiii. 142 She seamed and narrowed another entire round. |
2. trans. To mark (a surface) with lines or indentations; to furrow.
a. Said of a river, chasm, line of railway, etc. as marking the face of the earth.
| 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 616/2 And sure it is yet a most beautifull and sweet countrey..seamed throughout with many goodly rivers. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) II. 242 The prisms [of Rock Crystal] are generally seamed perpendicularly to their axis. 1815 Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xvi, The griesly gulfs and slaty rifts Which seam its shiver'd head. 1854 O. W. Holmes New Eden 2 Scarce could the parting ocean close, Seamed by the Mayflower's cleaving bow, When [etc.]. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1877) I. i. 1 The little rivers which seamed the ground. 1878 Hooker & Ball Marocco viii. 179 The great mountain chain that rose steeply before us, seamed with snow that..lay in hollows..forming long vertical streaks. 1878 M. Maccoll 3 Yrs. of Eastern Q. x. (ed. 3) 241 Plains seamed by railways. |
b. Said of a scar, wound, etc.; also of care or the passions as marking the face.
| 1695 Blackmore Pr. Arth. v. 147 Scars of Honour seam'd his manly Face. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 335 Seam'd o'er with wounds, which his own sabre gave. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones i. viii, It would be much better for them, if their faces had been seamed with the small-pox. 1825 Scott Betrothed xxvii, A veteran whose face had been seamed with many a scar. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 258 Seam'd with an ancient swordcut on the cheek. 1864 ― Aylmer's F. 814 Her..meagre face Seam'd with the shallow cares of fifty years. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. x, His face..seamed with jealousy and anger. |
c. intr. To become fissured; to crack.
| 1880 L. Wallace Ben-Hur 400 Their lips began to parch and seam. |
3. trans. To join (sheets of lead or metal) by means of a seam (see
seam n.1 6).
| 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 194 The Sheets of Lead..which are seam'd in the Platform. 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 211 The Sheets of Lead..should be seamed one to another with Solder. 1795 Herschel in Phil. Trans. LXXXV. 366 Seaming bars, setting tools, and claw-screws,..were made..to confine and stretch the parts as they were seamed together. |
4. To furnish with a seam or thin stratum (of ore).
| 1899 E. J. Chapman Drama of Two Lives 6 The rocky core Of those lone mountains, rent and old, Is seam'd and vein'd with glittering ore. |
5. Cricket.
a. intr. Of a pitch: to aid a seam bowler; of a ball: to swing during delivery on account of the seam.
| 1960 E. W. Swanton West Indies Revisited 118 According to the players, the pitch was still ‘seaming’ a bit. 1974 Reading Evening Post 3 Sept. 14/7 Both opening bowlers made the ball seam considerably and Fletcher was next to go. 1976 Liverpool Echo 23 Nov. 18/7 The pitches out there have been known to seam. |
b. trans. Of a bowler: to cause (a ball) to seam.
| 1963 T. Bailey Improve Your Cricket ii. 81 At medium pace it is possible to seam the ball..and naturally to vary pace, length and angle of flight. 1976 J. Snow Cricket Rebel 21 Thomson..and..Pountain..taking seven of the first eight wickets between them on a damp wicket which helped them seam the ball about. |
▪ VII. † seam, v.3 Obs. [f. seam n.3] trans. To dress (wool) with grease.
| 1511–2 Act 3 Hen. VIII, c. 6 §1 Not excedyng in weight after the rate of xij pounde Wolle seymed above oon quarter of a pound for the waste. 1592 Nashe P. Penilesse A 4 b, Barrelling vp the droppings of her nose, in steede of oyle to saime wool withall. |