Standard Lemma guide

yelm

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /jɛlm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛlm

1

noun

Meaning 1

A bundle of straw laid out straight, chiefly to be used for thatching; a helm.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To choose and lay out (straw) straight to be used for animal fodder or thatching; to helm.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dialectal, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To choose and lay out straw straight to be used for animal fodder or thatching; to helm.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dialectal, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

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.