Sealings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An act or instance of fastening something securely; a material used to create an airtight or watertight closure; an official mark or emblem stamped on a document to authenticate it
2. The process of securing something to prevent access or to maintain integrity; substances applied to joints or containers to stop leaks; a design or insignia affixed to validate a legal paper
3. The method of closing or fastening items to ensure protection; compounds or devices that cover openings to avoid contamination; a certification mark on a document signifying legitimacy

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "sealings" is that the word it grows from is a cousin of the Latin "sigillum", meaning a small image or seal-stamp, which came to English through Anglo-Norman "seel". The noun "seal" in English arrived with that Latin sense of an impression or stamp, and the older meaning of the mammal is a separate word that happens to share the spelling. Here the two strands are kept apart: one "seal" is the stamp that closes a document, the other is the sea creature. "Sealings" is simply the plural of "sealing", formed by adding the suffix "-ing" to "seal". Its meaning, airtight closing materials, grows out of the verb sense of sealing something shut. The source offers several readings of the "-ing" ending, but the form is plain enough that the word can be understood from its parts.

Synonyms: closures, fastenings