Yelm
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A bundle of straw laid out straight, chiefly to be used for thatching; a helm. UK, dialectal
"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 earth, each a yard from the heap, so as to form a square, each side of which would measure six yards. Two courses of yealms were next placed on the earth, so as to enclose the quadrangle indicated by the stakes; […]"
- 1 To choose and lay out (straw) straight to be used for animal fodder or thatching; to helm. UK, dialectal, transitive
"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."
- 2 To choose and lay out straw straight to be used for animal fodder or thatching; to helm. UK, dialectal, intransitive
"[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."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"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 earth, each a yard from the heap, so as to form a square, each side of which would measure six yards. Two courses of yealms were next placed on the earth, so as to enclose the quadrangle indicated by the stakes; […]"
Etymology
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.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.