cement
pronunciation
How to pronounce cement in British English:
UK [sɪˈment]
How to pronounce cement in American English:
US [sɪˈment]
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- Noun:
- concrete pavement is sometimes referred to as cement
- a building material that is a powder made of a mixture of calcined limestone and clay; used with water and sand or gravel to make concrete and mortar
- something that hardens to act as adhesive material
- any of various materials used by dentists to fill cavities in teeth
- a specialized bony substance covering the root of a tooth
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- Verb:
- make fast as if with cement
- cover or coat with cement
- bind or join with or as if with cement
Word Origin
- cement
- cement: [13] Latin caementa meant ‘stone chips used for making mortar’; etymologically, the notion behind it was of ‘hewing for a quarry’, for it was originally *caedmenta, a derivative of caedere ‘cut’ (from which English gets concise and decide). In due course the signification of the Latin word passed from ‘small broken stones’ to ‘powdered stone (used for mortar)’, and it was in this sense that it passed via Old French ciment into English.=> concise, decide
- cement (n.)
- c. 1300, from Old French ciment "cement, mortar, pitch," from Latin cæmenta "stone chips used for making mortar" (singular caementum), from caedere "to cut down, chop, beat, hew, fell, slay" (see -cide). The sense evolution from "small broken stones" to "powdered stones used in construction" took place before the word reached English.
- cement (v.)
- c. 1400, from cement (n.) or Old French cimenter. Figurative use from c. 1600. Related: Cemented; cementing.
Example
- 1. Share prices of cement manufacturers are also looking attractive .
- 2. It 's also partly because spending money on others helps cement our social relationships .
- 3. This week 's announcements were designed to cement the company 's lead .
- 4. But the cement industry is carbon-intensive .
- 5. Ancient cranes lift cement and oil drums .