Main Entry: ¹ce·ment

Pronunciation: \si-ˈment also ˈsē-ment\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English sement, from Anglo-French ciment, from Latin caementum stone chips used in making mortar, from caedere to cut

Date: 14th century

1 a : concrete b : a powder of alumina, silica, lime, iron oxide, and magnesium oxide burned together in a kiln and finely pulverized and used as an ingredient of mortar and concrete; also : any mixture used for a similar purpose
2 : a binding element or agency: as a : a substance to make objects adhere to each other b : something serving to unite firmly <justice is the cement that holds a political community together — R. M. Hutchins>
3 : cementum
4 : a plastic composition made especially of zinc or silica for filling dental cavities
5 : the fine-grained groundmass or glass of a porphyry