cam

Meaning

1. A turning or sliding piece which imparts motion to a rod, lever or block brought into sliding or rolling contact with it.
2. A curved wedge, movable about an axis, used for forcing or clamping two pieces together.
3. A ridge or mound of earth.
4. A spring-loaded camming device, a spring-loaded device for effecting a temporary belay in a rock crevice.

finger

lever

heart piece

nosewheel

eccentric piece

jaw

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

[kæm]

Recorded since the 16th century, from Dutch kam (“cog of a wheel; originally, comb”) (cognate with English comb, and preserved in modern Dutch compounds such as kamrad, kamwiel (“cog wheel”)). Doublet of comb.