clam
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
Etymology: From Middle English clam (“pincers, vice, clamp”), from Old English clam (“bond, fetter, grip, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *klammjan (“press, squeeze together”). The sense “dollar” may allude to wampum. The sense "Scientologist" alludes to the Scientologist belief that human thetans (souls) previously inhabited clams.
Inflected forms:
form: clams
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: clams
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: clamming
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: clammed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: clammed
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those that are edible; for example soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria), sea clams or hen clams (Spisula solidissima), and other species, possibly originally applied to clams of species Tridacna gigas, a huge East Indian bivalve.
pos: noun
examples: My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
Long as I have my clams I don't give a damn about revolution / Long as I have my rice I don't have to think twice about a solution
gloss: A type of strong pincers or forceps.
pos: noun
tags: historical
in-plural
gloss: A kind of vise, usually of wood.
pos: noun
gloss: A dollar.
pos: noun
tags: US
in-plural
slang
examples: Those sneakers cost me fifty clams!
The network canceled—nonco-operation their legal shysters said. Suing me, for, for ten million clams, damages to sponsors, agencies.
gloss: A Scientologist.
pos: noun
tags: derogatory
slang
examples: So the clams have John Travolta, Tom Cruise, et al in their hot li'l ol'P-R hands […]
gloss: A vagina or vulva.
pos: noun
tags: slang
vulgar
gloss: A wrong or misplaced note.
pos: noun
tags: slang
examples: You had too many fucking days off, and you think this is a game? You think I'm the only one that's going to work up there while you motherfuckers sit out there and clam all over this fucking joint? What do you think this is anyhow? What kind of playing do you think this is? What kind of miscues do you call this?... You afraid you won't be heard? Everybody can hear your fucking clams out there. You don't need a mic for that. You taking up too much time blowing what? Shit! You stand out here all fucking night trying to blow your brains out. When it comes time to play, what do you play? Clams?! You got nowhere to fucking go the next day. I hear one fucking clam from anybody, you've had it! One clam and this whole fucking band is through tonight. Try me!
gloss: One who clams up; a taciturn person, one who refuses to speak.
pos: noun
tags: informal
gloss: mouth (Now found mostly in the expression shut one's clam)
pos: noun
tags: US
dated
slang
examples: Why, he hasn't opened his clam since that morning in your room. I expected he would hold forth on every and all occasions.
Jason wouldn't shut his clam about the invaders.
gloss: To dig for clams.
pos: verb
Derived words: American jackknife clam
amethyst gem clam
Arctic surf clam
ark clam
Asian clam
Asiatic clam
Atlantic jackknife clam
Atlantic surf clam
bamboo clam
bar clam
basket clam
beach clam
bean clam
bearded clam
bear paw clam
big-necked clam
black clam
blood clam
boring clam
butter clam
butterfly clam
calico clam
cherrystone clam
chestnut clam
Chinese clam
clamato
clambake
clam bake
clambroth
clamburger
clam cake
clam chowder
clamdigger
clamdiggers
Clam Falls
clam gun
clam hoe
Clam Lake
clamless
clam licker
clamlike
clammish
clam rake
clam shack
clamshell
clam-shell
clam shrimp
clam smacker
Clam Union
clam worm
coquina clam
crocus clam
dipper clam
disco clam
duck clam
electric clam
elephant trunk clam
Essex clam
fingernail clam
fluted giant clam
freshwater clam
gaper clam
giant clam
happy as a clam
happy as a clam at high water
hard clam
hard-shell clam
hardshell clam
heart clam
hen clam
horse clam
horse's hoof clam
hoseshoe clam
Ipswich clam
iron clam
jackknife clam
Japanese littleneck clam
king clam
Korean clam
littleneck clam
little neck clam
long-neck clam
mahogany clam
Manila clam
maxima clam
nut clam
otter shell clam
Pacific clam
Pacific littleneck clam
Pacific razor clam
Palourde clam
paw clam
pea clam
pismo clam
piss clam
pompano clam
razor clam
rock clam
round clam
saffron-coloured clam
sand clam
scaly clam
sea clam
shut up like a clam
small giant clam
smooth clam
soft-shell clam
soft clam
steamer clam
strawberry clam
sunrise clam
surf clam
tea clam
Venus clam
Washington clam
clam up
Translations:
lang: Abenaki
word: als
lang: Algonquin
word: poquauhock
lang: Asturian
word: amasuela
lang: Asturian
word: almexa
lang: Asturian
word: cáscara
lang: Basque
word: txirla
lang: Belarusian
word: малю́ск
roman: maljúsk
lang: Belarusian
word: двухра́кавінкавы малю́ск
roman: dvuxrákavinkavy maljúsk
lang: Bulgarian
word: ми́да
roman: mída
lang: Burmese
word: ခုံးကောင်
roman: hkum:kaung
lang: Catalan
word: cloïssa
lang: Cheyenne
word: hexōvo
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 蜆 /蚬
roman: hin²
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 蚌
roman: bàng
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 蛤
roman: gé
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 蛤蜊
roman: gélí
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 蜆 /蚬
roman: xiǎn
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 文蛤
roman: wéngé
lang: Corsican
word: vongola
lang: Cree
word: ᐁᓴ
roman: esa
lang: Cree
word: ᐁᓯᐢ
roman: esis
lang: Czech
word: škeble
lang: Dutch
word: mossel
lang: Esperanto
word: ruditapo
lang: Esperanto
word: muslo
lang: Esperanto
word: pekteno
lang: Finnish
word: simpukka
lang: French
word: palourde
lang: French
word: praire
lang: Galician
word: ameixa
lang: German
word: Muschel
lang: German
word: Venusmuschel
lang: German
word: Klaffmuschel
lang: Greek
word: αχιβάδα
roman: achiváda
lang: Hebrew
word: צֶדֶף
roman: tzédef
lang: Hebrew
word: צִדְפָּה
roman: tzidpá
lang: Hungarian
word: kagyló
lang: Ido
word: muslo
lang: Inuktitut
word: ammuumajuq (ammuumajuq)
lang: Irish
word: breallach
lang: Italian
word: vongola
lang: Italian
word: tellina
lang: Italian
word: arsella
lang: Japanese
word: 蛤
roman: hamaguri
lang: Japanese
word: ハマグリ
roman: hamaguri
lang: Japanese
word: 浅蜊
roman: asari
lang: Japanese
word: アサリ
roman: asari
lang: Korean
word: 조개
roman: jogae
lang: Lakota
word: tuki
lang: Latin
word: mollusca
lang: Macedonian
word: школка
roman: školka
lang: Malay
word: kepah
lang: Marshallese
word: jenǫ
lang: Mi'kmaq
word: e's
lang: Mohegan-Pequot
word: suksuw
lang: Mohegan-Pequot
word: poqáh
lang: Navajo
word: chʼosh bitsʼaʼ doolkʼoolígíí
lang: Norwegian
word: musling
lang: Norwegian
word: blåskjell
lang: Southern Ohlone
word: hakkaw
lang: Ojibwe
word: es
lang: Polish
word: małż
lang: Portuguese
word: amêijoa
lang: Romanian
word: moluscă comestibilă
lang: Russian
word: моллю́ск
roman: molljúsk
lang: Russian
word: двуство́рчатый моллю́ск
roman: dvustvórčatyj molljúsk
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: шко̑љка
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: škȏljka
lang: Slovene
word: škóljka
lang: Lower Sorbian
word: wenusowa mušla
lang: Spanish
word: almeja
lang: Spanish
word: chirla
lang: Spanish
word: amayuela
lang: Spanish
word: chocha
lang: Swedish
word: mussla
lang: Tagalog
word: kabibe
lang: Thai
word: หอยกาบ
roman: h̄xy kāb
lang: Turkish
word: istiridye
lang: Turkish
word: midye
lang: Ukrainian
word: молю́ск
roman: moljúsk
lang: Ukrainian
word: двостулковий молю́ск
roman: dvostulkovyj moljúsk
lang: Unami
word: èhës
lang: Vietnamese
word: nghêu
lang: Vietnamese
word: sò
lang: Welsh
word: cragen fylchog
lang: Yiddish
word: קלאַם
roman: klam