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Oakum

noun

Loose hemp or jute fiber obtained by unravelling old ropes; when impregnated with tar it was used to caulk seams and pack joints in wooden ships.

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Etymology of 'Oakum'

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"Oakum" Quotes from Famous Books

... forecastle and got some tools, a piece of old sailcloth, and a large bundle of oakum; and then made his way with the two sailors down into the after hold. The way in which the upper tier of cargo lay heaped against the sides showed that it would, as the captain said, have been impossible to enter while the motion ...

— A Final Reckoning - A Tale of Bush Life in Australia • G. A. Henty

... do your task, pick four pounds of oakum, or clean an' scrub, or break ten to eleven hundredweight o' stones. I don't 'ave to break stones; I'm past sixty, you see. They'll make you do it, though. You're ...

— The People of the Abyss • Jack London

... propeller and stern-post off altogether. At 9 a.m., after pumping ship, the engineer reported a leak in the way of the propeller-shaft aft near the stern-post on the port side. The carpenter cut part of the lining and filled the space between the timbers with Stockholm tar, cement, and oakum. He could not get at the actual leak, but his makeshift made a little difference. I am anxious about the propeller. This pack is a dangerous place for a ship now; it seems miraculous that ...

— South! • Sir Ernest Shackleton

... o' cordage swashin' about the Water Wagtail ever since she went ashore? An' haven't we got fingers? Can't we undo the strands an' make small cord? Surely some of ye have picked oakum enough to understand what ...

— The Crew of the Water Wagtail • R.M. Ballantyne

Words linked to "Oakum" : fibre, fiber