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culm

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culm¹

  • /ˈkʌlm/

Rhymes with -ʌlm

Where it comes from

From Middle English culme, colme (“fragments of coal”), of uncertain origin. Probably from Old English *colm, related to Old English col (“coal”). Alternatively, perhaps from Welsh cwlm (“knot or tie”), applied to this species of coal, which is much found in balls or knots in some parts of Wales.

noun culms

  1. countable, uncountable Waste coal, used as a poor quality fuel. Holonyms: spoils, tailings

    Similar: slack

  2. countable, uncountable The spoils from which such low-quality coal can be retrieved. culm dump

    Similar: tailings

  3. countable, uncountable Anthracite, especially when found in small masses.

culm²

  • /ˈkʌlm/

Rhymes with -ʌlm

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin culmus. Doublet of French calame, calamus, and haulm; further related to caramel, chalumeau and shawm.

noun culms

  1. The stem of a plant, especially of grass or sedge. […] because, upon hearing him out, she sank down on the lawn in an impossible posture, examining a grass culm and frowning, he had taken his words back at once; […]

Culm³

proper noun

  1. A German bishopric, founded in 1234.

Culm⁴

proper noun

  1. A river in Devon, England, which joins the River Exe near Stoke Canon.

Translations

Every language

noun stem of a grass or sedge

日本語稈 kan
Italianoculmo
Русскийстебе́ль stebélʹ, соло́мина solómina

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Cite this
MLA

"culm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/culm. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

culm. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/culm

Chicago

"culm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/culm.

BibTeX
@misc{culm_2026,
  title = {culm},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/culm},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}