cement

n. [ OF. cement, ciment, F. ciment, fr. L. caementum a rough, unhewn stone, pieces or chips of marble, from which mortar was made, contr. fr. caedimentum, fr. caedere to cut, prob. akin to scindere to cleave, and to E. shed, v. t. ] 1. Any substance used for making bodies adhere to each other, as mortar, glue, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A kind of calcined limestone, or a calcined mixture of clay and lime, for making mortar which will harden under water. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The powder used in cementation. See Cementation, n., 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Bond of union; that which unites firmly, as persons in friendship, or men in society. “The cement of our love.” [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Anat.) The layer of bone investing the root and neck of a tooth; -- called also cementum. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hydraulic cement. See under Hydraulic. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Cemented; p. pr. & vb. n. Cementing. ] [ Cf. F. cimenter. See Cement, n. ] 1. To unite or cause to adhere by means of a cement. Bp. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To unite firmly or closely. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To overlay or coat with cement; as, to cement a cellar bottom. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to cement, as of a tooth; as, cemental tubes. R. Owen. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or process of cementing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) A process which consists in surrounding a solid body with the powder of other substances, and heating the whole to a degree not sufficient to cause fusion, the physical properties of the body being changed by chemical combination with powder; thus iron becomes steel by cementation with charcoal, and green glass becomes porcelain by cementation with sand. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the quality of cementing or uniting firmly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A person or thing that cements. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. caementitius pertaining to quarry stones. See Cement, n. ] Of the nature of cement. [ R. ] Forsyth. [ 1913 Webster ]