The material used to seal gaps and seams, or the act of sealing them; commonly done in ships, buildings, and plumbing.
Gerund form of 'caulk,' from Old French 'calfater.' The '-ing' suffix transforms the verb into a noun representing both the action and the material used.
Modern caulking comes in silicone, acrylic, and polyurethane varieties, but Victorian sailors used the exact same oakum and pitch that archaeologists find in 300-year-old shipwrecks—some techniques really are timeless!
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