Caulked

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have employed a waterproofing agent to close spaces between surfaces To have filled openings or fissures to eliminate the risk of leakage To have applied a sealing material to prevent the passage of moisture or air
2. To have used a flexible sealing compound to close joints and prevent water entry
3. To have inserted a pliable filler to block cracks and avoid moisture seepage

Etymology: "Caulked" is the past form of "caulk," and the verb's history runs back to limestone. In Late Latin, "calicāre" meant to fill gaps with lime, a mineral material made from "calx," the Latin word for limestone or chalk. That same root gave English "chalk" and, through a different route, "calculus," the word for a pebble used in counting. Ancient builders and shipwrights pressed lime-based fillers into seams to keep out water, so the idea of sealing a gap came before any modern material. The word reached French as "cauquer," and it passed from Old Northern French into English, where it kept the sense of filling a seam tightly. Its modern meaning is broader than its origin: today a caulk is usually a flexible compound such as silicone or acrylic, not lime at all, yet the verb still describes the same action of closing a joint against water.

Synonyms: sealed, filled, closed