Forms: 3–5 syment, 4 siment, 5–7 cy-, sement, 5 scyment, symonde, 6 sciment, symunt, 6–7 ciment, 7 seiment, symond, cemente, cœment, 8 scement, 6– cement. [ME. cyment, a. OF. ciment (= Pr. cimen, Sp., Pg. cimento):—L. cæment-um (in late L. cimentum), contr. for cædimentum rough unhewn stone, chip, lit. ‘cutting,’ ‘produce of cutting or chipping,’ f. cædĕre to cut. In 16th c. altered to cement after the L. form. The pronunciation ce·ment is found from 14th c., but is now almost superseded by ceme·nt, after the vb.
The name appears to have been given to broken or pounded stone, tiles, etc., mixed with lime to form a setting mortar, and at length to the mortar or plaster so formed, whence it passed into the modern sense of strong setting mortar, or of mortar generally, however made.]
1. A substance used to bind the stones or bricks of a building firmly together, to cover floors, to form walls, terraces, etc., which being applied in a soft and pasty state, afterwards hardens into a stony consistency; esp. a strong mortar, produced by the calcination of a natural or artificial mixture of calcareous and argillaceous matter.
Hydraulic cements harden under water, and are used for piers, dock-walls, etc. Roman cement, like all the hydraulic cements, is an argillaceous lime. Portland cement is so called because it resembles in color the Portland stone. It is prepared by calcining a mixture of the clayey mud of the Thames with a proper proportion of chalk (Ure).
c. 1300. K. Alis., 6177. A clay … Strong so yren, ston, or syment.
c. 1320. Seuyn Sag. (W.), 2125. The fir … falsed the siment, and the ston.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVI. xxiv. (Tollem. MS.). Lyme … is a ston brente; by medlynge þerof with sonde and water sement is made.
c. 1420. Pallad. on Husb., VI. 190. This scyment, bryk, stoon, cley togeðer drie.
c. 1440. York Myst., viii. 102. Sadly sette it with symonde fyne.
1534. Ld. Berners, Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546), H vj. With diuers stones and one ciment.
1662. Gerbier, Princ., 20. Their Lime … composed a Seiment, which joyned with Stone (or Brick) made an inseparable union.
1712. Blackmore, Creation, I. 230. For want of cement strong enough to bind The structure fast.
1791. Smeaton, Edystone L., § 172. Nothing in the way of Cement would answer our end, but what would adhere to a moist surface, and become hard.
1823. P. Nicholson, Pract. Build., 329. Cement, or mortar, is a preparation of lime and sand, mixed with water.
1851. Richardson, Geol., 361. Ovate nodules of argillaceous limestone … named septaria … extensively used for cement.
1862. Darwin, Fertil. Orchids, i. 15. Setting like a cement hard and dry in a few minutes’ time.
2. gen. Any substance applied in a soft or glutinous state to the surfaces of solid bodies to make them cohere firmly.
1562. Bulleyn, Bk. Simples, 85 a. Whan stone pottes be broken, what is better to glew them againe … like the Symunt made of Cheese.
1641. Vestry Bks. (Surtees), 191. Wax, rossel, and stone pitch to make symond for mending the fount stone broken by the Scotts.
1664. Power, Exp. Philos., II. 97. No Air could pierce the cœment, that luted the Glass and Lead-Pipe together.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist., VII. 3. The fluids of the animal itself furnish the cement.
1839–60. Ure, Dict. Arts, s.v. (L.). The diamond cement … which is sold as a secret at an absurdly dear price, is composed of isinglass soaked in water … to which a little gum resin, ammoniac, or galbanum, and resin mastic are added.
1884. F. J. Britten, Watch & Clockm., 48. The cement generally used by engravers … to fit their work is composed of four parts of pitch, two of plaster of Paris, and one of resin.
b. Any uniting medium or substance. rare.
1604. E. G[rimstone], D’Acosta’s Hist. Indies, I. iii. 11. Any other ciment or vniting to the earth then the Element of water.
1794. R. J. Sulivan, View Nat., I. 466. The quantity of air discharged from metals, is supposed to be the cement or principle, which unites all the parts together.
c. fig. A principle of union.
1606. Shaks., Ant. & Cl., III. ii. 29. The peece of Vertue which is set Betwixt vs, as the Cyment of our loue To keepe it builded.
1607. Chapman, Bussy D’Amb. (1613), K iij b. But Friendship is the Sement of two mindes.
1742. R. Blair, Grave, 8.
| Friendship! Mysterious Cement of the Soul! | |
| Sweetner of Life! and Solder of Society! |
1826. E. Irving, Babylon, I. III. 246. Faith is the cement of all domestic and social union.
1872. Bagehot, Physics & Pol. (1876), 184. Custom was in early days the cement of society.
3. transf. A substance resembling cement, used for some other purpose; e.g., for stopping teeth.
1489. Caxton, Faytes of A., II. xxxv. 152. Staues of drye wode all holowe withinne and full of fyre of cyment of oyle and of towe.
1625. W. Beale’s Patent, in Abridgm. Specif. (1862), 1. Certen compounded stuffes and waters called … cement or dressing for shippes.
1881. Syd. Soc. Lex., Cement, a term applied to certain soft compounds used for stopping of carious teeth.
4. Phys. The bony tissue forming the outer crust of the fang of the tooth.
1849–52. Todd, Cycl. Anat., IV. 865/1. ‘Cement’ always closely corresponds in texture with the osseous tissue.
1855. Owen, Skel. & Teeth, 230.
1873. Mivart, Elem. Anat., 250. The cement invests the fang.
5. Mining. (See quot.)
1881. Raymond, Mining Gloss., Cement (Australia and Pacific), gravel firmly held in a silicious matrix, or the matrix itself.
6. attrib. and Comb., as cement-covered, -forming adjs.; cement-cell, a CELL (14 c) formed of a ring of cement; cement-copper (see quot.); cement-duct (Zool.), a duct in Cirripeds that conveys through the antenna the ‘cement’ by which the animal attaches itself; cement-gland, the gland at the base of each antenna that secretes this cement; cement-gold, -silver, -steel (see quots.); cement-stone, a nodule of argillaceous limestone occurring embedded in clay, from which cement is made; cement wall, cement-water (see quots.).
1881. Carpenter, Microscope, 214. A *‘cement-cell’ answers this purpose very well.
1881. Raymond, Mining Gloss., *Cement-copper, copper precipitated from solution.
1849–52. Todd, Cycl. Anat., IV. 896/2. The *cement-covered cylindrical base of the tooth.
1855. Owen, Skel. & Teeth, 288. The enamel organ and *cement-forming capsule.
1871. T. R. Jones, Anim. Kingd., 498. In each of the antennæ there is situated a duct, derived from a large glandular body (the *cement-gland).
1881. Raymond, Mining Gloss., *Cement-gold, gold precipitated in fine particles from solution. Ibid., *Cement-silver, silver precipitated from solution, usually by copper. Ibid., s.v. Steel, Blister or *cement-steel is made by carburizing wrought iron bars by packing them in charcoal powder and heating without access of air.
1863. A. C. Ramsay, Phys. Geog., xxxv. (1878), 611. *Cement stones are also found .. in the Eocene strata.
1875. Ure, Dict. Arts, II. 824. The Blue Lias cement-stones are considered the strongest water-limes of this country.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. 45/1. A *Cement Wall … is a wall made of River Pebbles, or Marble Stones split in the middle.
1762. trans. Busching’s Syst. Geog., I. 50. *Cement-Waters, that contain the vitriolic copper; and on laying clean iron in them they corrode its particles, and substitute others of copper.
Hence Cementless a., devoid of cement.
1856. Ruskin, Mod. Paint., IV. V. xix. § 12. Rough with cementless and jagged brick.
