​LOAM (O.E. lám; the word appears in Dut. leem and Ger. Lehm; the ultimate origin is the root lai-, meaning “to be sticky,” which is seen in the cognate “lime,” Lat. limus, mud, clay), a fertile soil composed of a mixture of sand, clay, and decomposed vegetable matter, the quantity of sand being sufficient to prevent the clay massing together. The word is also used of a mixture of sand, clay and straw, used for making casting-moulds and bricks, and for plastering walls, &c. (see Soil).