wad

Meanings

Noun

• An amorphous, compact mass.
• A substantial pile (normally of money).
• A soft plug or seal, particularly as used between the powder and pellets in a shotgun cartridge, or earlier on the charge of a muzzleloader or cannon.
• A sandwich.
• An ejaculation of semen.
• Plumbago, graphite.
• Any black manganese oxide or hydroxide mineral rich rock in the oxidized zone of various ore deposits.

Verb

• To crumple or crush into a compact, amorphous shape or ball.
• To wager.
• To insert or force a wad into.
• To stuff or line with some soft substance, or wadding, like cotton.

Related

Similar words

• cumload, cumwad, load

Origin

• Probably short for Middle English wadmal ("woolen cloth"), from Old Norse váðmál ("woolen stuff"), from váð + mál. See wadmal. Cognate with Swedish vadd ("wadding, cotton wool"), German Wat, Watte, Dutch lijnwaad, gewaad, watten, West Frisian waad, Old English wǣd ("garment, clothing") (English: weed). More at weed, meal.