yelm
/jɛlm/
yelm noun: a bundle of straw laid out straight, chiefly to be used for thatching; a helm.
Noun
yelm (plural yelms)
- A bundle of straw laid out straight, chiefly to be used for thatching; a helm.
- After the leaves had been removed, as many turnips were thrown together as would lie upon a circle four yards in diameter: yealms of wheat-straw were made, similar to such as are used for thatching, but longer, thicker, and formed with less precision: four tall stakes were then driven into the...1822 April 27, John Cowley, William Staines, “L.—On Preserving Turnips, &c. during the Winter.”, in Thomas Gill, editor, The Technical Repository, Containing Practical Information on Subjects...
- Another useful implement of Mr. Williams' is his Patent Horse-rake. […] [A] ball working with the leverage of a handle keeps the teeth at their work, and is connected with the bar running underneath by a spring, and cannot lose the yealm.1852 December 11, “The Smithfield Club Show—Agricultural Implements”, in R[ichard] A[rchibald] Brooman, editors, The Mechanics’ Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal, and Gazette, volume LVII, number...
Verb
yelm (third-person singular simple present yelms, present participle yelming, simple past and past participle yelmed)
- To choose and lay out (straw) straight to be used for animal fodder or thatching; to helm.
- Horses thrive particularly well upon it [furze], and are exceedingly lively and hearty in their work; but I have usually given it to them mixed with chaff, containing one part hay, and two parts straw, yelmed together, and cut by a chaff-cutter.1802 September, O. [pseudonym], “On the Cultivation of Furze”, in The Commercial and Agricultural Magazine, volume VII, number XXXVIII, London: […] Vaughan Griffiths, […], →OCLC, page 201
- The straw, when delivered from the threshing machine, […] then comes down an inclined rack, nearly yelmed and ready for cutting into chaff. Three men yelm the straw, mixing it with a small quantity of green fodder, such as rye or tares.1860 July 17, Samuel Jonas, “Letter from Mr. Jonas, Communicating a Plan for Cutting and Storing Straw Chaff to the Best Advantage”, in Transactions of the State Agricultural Society of Michigan...
- To choose and lay out straw straight to be used for animal fodder or thatching; to helm.
- [T]wo or three women are busy ‘yelming’—i.e., separating the straw, selecting the longest and laying it level and parallel, damping it with water, and preparing it for the yokes.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The Hamlet—Cottage Astrology—Ghost Lore—Herbs—The Waggon and Its Crew—Stiles—The Trysting-place—The Thatcher—Smugglers—Ague”, in Wild Life in a Southern County […]...
- We must now call attention to a patent yealming machine by Mr. [Robert] Maynard, and when attached to his combined chaff engine was one of the most attractive novelties in the Agricultural Hall. In using it, a man pitches the hay or straw on to an elevating endless rake, which draws up the material...1884 January 17, “Home Farm: New and Improved Agricultural Machinery”, in Robert Hogg, editor, The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener, and Home Farmer. A Chronicle of Country Pursuits and...
Examples of yelm in a sentence
- He [the thatcher] is attended by a man to carry up the ‘yelms,’ […]1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The Hamlet—Cottage Astrology—Ghost Lore—Herbs—The Waggon and Its Crew—Stiles—The Trysting-place—The...
- The thatcher then laid the ‘yelms’, or bunches of drawn straw, on the laths, beginning at the eaves and working up towards the ridge.1952, L[ouis] F[rancis] Salzman, “Thatch, Tiles, Slates, Vanes”, in Building in England down to 1540: A Documentary History, revised...
- The preparation of straw for thatch, which was known as ‘yelming’, consisted in damping it and ‘drawing’ it with a thatching-fork, or great comb, so as to get the straws parallel.1952, L[ouis] F[rancis] Salzman, “Thatch, Tiles, Slates, Vanes”, in Building in England down to 1540: A Documentary History, revised...
Forms of yelm
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | yelms |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | yelms |
| present participle | yelming |
| past participle | yelmed |
| past | yelmed |
| alternative form | yealm |
Origin of yelm
The noun is derived from Middle English yelm, from Old English ġielm (“bunch or handful (of plant stems)”), from Proto-West Germanic *galmi (“bundle or handful of plants”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃- (“green, yellow”) or *gʰel- (“to cut”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Words formed from yelm
Words that rhyme with yelm
Questions about yelm
- What does yelm mean?
- Yelm means a bundle of straw laid out straight, chiefly to be used for thatching; a helm.
- How do you use yelm in a sentence?
- He [the thatcher] is attended by a man to carry up the ‘yelms,’ […]
- What part of speech is yelm?
- Yelm can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce yelm?
- Yelm is pronounced /jɛlm/ (UK).
- What is the plural of yelm?
- The plural of yelm is yelms.
Words near yelm in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: yelm (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-yelm.wav.
Cite this entry: “yelm.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/yelm. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.