Seam
/siːm/noun
A line where two pieces of material are joined together; also, a natural line of division or weakness.
Did you know?Seam comes from an ancient Germanic root meaning a stitched join, and that same root also gave English the word *sew*—so the language has been linking cloth and survival for thousands of years.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*syū-
“to sew, bind, or stitch”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*saumaz
“a seam, stitched join”
Old English
OE
seam
“a sewn seam or join in cloth”
Middle English
English
seem
“a seam, line of joining; also a natural crack or division”
Modern English
English
seam
“a line where two pieces are joined together, especially in fabric”
Explore more surprising origins