Cements

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A substance utilized to bind or adhere materials together in construction and manufacturing enhances structural integrity through its solidifying properties
2. A composite material that strengthens connections in various applications by hardening upon setting, essential for building and engineering needs
3. A binding agent that solidifies to hold together elements in construction, manufacturing, and various engineering processes by providing durability and strength

Etymology: The plural "cements" is simply the plural of "cement", so the story belongs to the noun. Its ancestor was a plain builder's word for rubble. Latin "caementum" meant a rough stone, a chip hewn from a larger block, used in making mortar, and it came from "caedere", "to cut or hew". The sense of the stone was the starting point; the binding was added later. The word passed into Old French as "ciment", and English took it in the Middle Ages as "syment" or "cyment", referring to a material that held building stone together. Over time the sense shifted from the stone fragments themselves to the binding paste that held them in place, which is why the modern meaning is about adhesion rather than the chips. Notice that "cement" and "cementum" are doublets: both descend from the same Latin root, but "cementum" came into English as a technical term for the bony layer covering a tooth root, so the two words split apart while sharing a single ancestor.

Synonyms: binds, joins, unites, adhesives, glues

Antonyms: dissolves, separates, disconnects, loosens, breaks