Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Loam \Loam\, n. [AS. l[=a]m; akin to D. leem, G. lehm, and E.
   lime. See 4th {Lime}.]
   1. A kind of soil; an earthy mixture of clay and sand, with
      organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due.

            We wash a wall of loam; we labor in vain. --Hooker.

   2. (Founding) A mixture of sand, clay, and other materials,
      used in making molds for large castings, often without a
      pattern.

   {Loam mold} (Founding), a mold made with loam. See {Loam},
      n., 2.

   {Loam molding}, the process or business of making loam molds.

   {Loam plate}, an iron plate upon which a section of a loam
      mold rests, or from which it is suspended.

   {Loam work}, loam molding or loam molds.