Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To come into view as a massive, distorted, or indistinct image: synonym: appear.
  • intransitive verb To appear to the mind in a magnified and threatening form.
  • intransitive verb To seem imminent; impend.
  • noun A distorted, threatening appearance of something, as through fog or darkness.
  • noun An apparatus for making thread or yarn into cloth by weaving strands together at right angles.
  • transitive verb To weave (a tapestry, for example) on a loom.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A coming indistinctly or vaguely into view; also, the indistinct or unnaturally enlarged appearance of anything, as land, seen at a distance or through a fog. See looming.
  • noun The track of a fish.
  • To put into or adjust in a loom.
  • noun A utensil; a tool; a weapon; an article in general: now used only in composition, as in heir-loom, workloom, etc. See heirloom.
  • noun A machine for weaving any fabric from yarn or thread.
  • noun The part of an oar between the blade and the handle; the shaft.
  • noun A chimney.
  • To shine.
  • Specifically To appear indistinctly; come dimly into view, as from below the horizon or through a mist; rise up before the vision so as to give the impression of indistinct bulk or largeness: stand out prominently in the prospect: often used figuratively.
  • noun A loon. See loon.
  • noun A guillemot.
  • To weave.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A frame or machine of wood or other material, in which a weaver forms cloth out of thread; a machine for interweaving yarn or threads into a fabric, as in knitting or lace making.
  • noun (Naut.) That part of an oar which is near the grip or handle and inboard from the rowlock.
  • intransitive verb To appear above the surface either of sea or land, or to appear enlarged, or distorted and indistinct, as a distant object, a ship at sea, or a mountain, esp. from atmospheric influences
  • intransitive verb To rise and to be eminent; to be elevated or ennobled, in a moral sense.
  • intransitive verb To become imminent; to impend.
  • noun The state of looming; esp., an unnatural and indistinct appearance of elevation or enlargement of anything, as of land or of a ship, seen by one at sea.
  • noun (Zoöl.) See loon, the bird.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A utensil; tool; a weapon; (usually in compound) an article in general.
  • noun A frame or machine of wood or other material, in which a weaver forms cloth out of thread; a machine for interweaving yarn or threads into a fabric, as in knitting or lace making
  • noun That part of an oar which is near the grip or handle and inboard from the rowlock
  • verb to impend; to threaten or hang over
  • noun dated loon (bird of order Gaviformes)

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb come into view indistinctly, often threateningly
  • verb weave on a loom
  • verb hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
  • noun a textile machine for weaving yarn into a textile
  • verb appear very large or occupy a commanding position

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English lome, from Old English gelōma, tool : ge-, collective pref.; see yclept + -lōma, tool (as in handlōman, tools).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English lome, from Old English lōma, ġelōma ("tool, utensil, implement, article of furniture, household effect") (also as andlōma, andġelōma, andlāma ("utensil, instrument, implement, tool, vessel"), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Middle Dutch allame ("tool"). Perhaps originally meaning "a thing of frequent use", in which case, akin to Old English ġelōme ("often, frequently, continually, repeatedly"), from Proto-Germanic *ga- + Proto-Germanic *lōmiz, *lōmjaz (“lame, halt”), from Proto-Indo-European *lem- (“to break, soften”). Compare Old High German giluomo, kilōmo ("often, frequently"), Old English lama ("lame"). See lame.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old Norse ljóma ("to shine")

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