köken: From Middle High German tamm. Probably via Old High German *tamm from Proto-Germanic *dammaz, though it is sometimes considered a later back-formation from the verb dämmen. The modern consonantism is Central and Low German (compare Middle Low German dam).
A strip of land at the margin of some land forms. · shoulder, roadside (area on either side of a road) · balk, butt (piece of land left unplowed at the end of a field)