Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Clam
1.
(Zool.)
A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those that are edible;
as, the long
. The name is said to have been given originally to the clam
(Mya arenaria
), the quahog or round clam
(Venus mercenaria
), the sea clam
or hen clam
(Spisula solidissima
), and other species of the United StatesTridacna gigas
, a huge East Indian bivalve. You shall scarce find any bay or shallow shore, or cove of sand, where you may not take many
clampes
, or lobsters, or both, at your pleasure. Capt. John Smith (1616).
Clams
, or clamps
, is a shellfish not much unlike a cockle; it lieth under the sand. Wood (1634).
2.
(Ship Carp.)
Strong pinchers or forceps.
Clam
(clăm)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Clammed
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Clamming
.] [Cf. AS.
clæman
to clam, smear; akin to Icel. kleima
to smear, OHG. kleimjan
, chleimen
, to defile, or E. clammy
.] To clog, as with glutinous or viscous matter.
A swarm of wasps got into a honey pot, and there they cloyed and
clammed
Themselves till there was no getting out again. L’Estrange.
Clam
,Verb.
I.
To be moist or glutinous; to stick; to adhere.
[R.]
Dryden
Clam
,Noun.
Claminess; moisture.
[R.]
“The clam of death.” Carlyle.
Clam
,Noun.
[Abbrev. fr.
clamor
.] A crash or clangor made by ringing all the bells of a chime at once.
Nares.
Clam
,Verb.
T.
& I.
To produce, in bell ringing, a clam or clangor; to cause to clang.
Nares.
Webster 1828 Edition
Clam
CLAM
,Noun.