Dam (dăm), n. [OE. dame mistress, lady; also, mother, dam. See Dame.] 1. A female parent; -- used of beasts, especially of quadrupeds; sometimes applied in contempt to a human mother.
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Our sire and dam, now confined to horses, are a relic of this age (13th century) . . . .Dame is used of a hen; we now make a great difference between dame and dam. T. L. K. Oliphant.
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The dam runs lowing up and down,
Looking the way her harmless young one went. Shak.
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2. A king or crowned piece in the game of draughts.
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Dam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dammed (dămd); p. pr. & vb. n. Damming.] 1. To obstruct or restrain the flow of, by a dam; to confine by constructing a dam, as a stream of water; -- generally used with in or up.
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I'll have the current in this place dammed up. Shak.
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A weight of earth that dams in the water. Mortimer.
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2. To shut up; to stop up; to close; to restrain.
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The strait pass was dammed
With dead men hurt behind, and cowards. Shak.
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To dam out, to keep out by means of a dam.
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