Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Loam

Loam (lōm) , noun

[Anglo-Saxon lām; akin to Dutch leem, German lehm, and English lime. See 4th Lime.]

1.
A kind of soil; an earthy mixture of clay and sand, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due.
We wash a wall of loam; we labor in vain. — Hooker
2.
(Founding) A mixture of sand, clay, and other materials, used in making molds for large castings, often without a pattern.
Collocations (4)
Loam mold (Founding) , a mold made with loam. See Loam, n., 2.
Loam molding , the process or business of making loam molds.
Loam plate , an iron plate upon which a section of a loam mold rests, or from which it is suspended.
Loam work , loam molding or loam molds.

Loam , intransitive verb

To cover, smear, or fill with loam.