lameadj.

Brit.

/leɪm/, U.S.

/leɪm/

Forms: Old English lama, ( lame), loma, Middle English lomme, Middle English lome, Middle English lam, Middle English– lame.

Etymology: Old English lama, lǫma (the weak declension is, from some unexplained cause, used in indefinite as well as definite context, the form in -a being, moreover, commonly used for all genders), corresponding to Old Frisian lam, lom, Old Saxon lamo (Dutch lam), Old High German lam (Middle High German lam, modern German lahm), Old Norse lame (weak) < Old Germanic *lamo-; an ablaut-variant is *lômjo- in Old High German luomi, Middle High German lüeme dull, slack, gentle, early modern German lumm, whence lümmel blockhead. From the same root is Old Church Slavonic lomitĭ to break.

1. Of a person or animal:

a. Disabled or impaired in any way; weak, infirm; paralysed; unable to move. Const. on, of (cf. 1c). Obsolete exc. archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [adjective]

limphalta700

lamec725

haltc893

cripplec1230

alamedc1275

crippleda1400

left-handeda1425

limb-take1519

limp-legged1523

limpish1570

lamish1592

limping1599

spavined1647

hip-shotten1648

hamble-shanked1661

hop-legged1714

cripply1775

bockety1842

estropiated1917

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > convulsive or paralytic disorders > [adjective] > palsy or paralysis > suffering from

lamec725

paralytica1398

palsya1500

lither1513

palsied1551

shrew-run1607

stupid1634

paralysed1763

paretic1822

palsying1834

shrew-afflicted1842

shrew-struck1850

c725 Corpus Gloss. 815 Conclamatus, commotus loma.

c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) v. v. 396 He wæs loma & ealra his lioma þegnunga benumen.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 2 Ða brohton hig hym ænne laman [L. paralyticum] on bedde licgende.

c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 112/32 Pleuriticus, on sidan lama, uel sidadl.

c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 162/1 Debilis, uel eneruatus, lame.

a1250 Owl & Nightingale 363 Ȝet þu me seist on oþer schome þat ich am on mine eȝen lome.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5153 I may noght rise, i am sua lame.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 317/1 Lame of all ones lymmes, perclus.

1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxii. 93 They did thinke the childe lame of the one side.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. True Hist. Siege Ostend 63 A Germaine..who was lame of halfe his body, and simple.

1878 B. Taylor Prince Deukalion i. iv. 37 One gets old and lame, And then the Gods themselves forget their words.

b. Disabled through injury to, or defect in, a limb; spec. disabled in the foot or leg, so as to walk haltingly or be unable to walk.Proverb. to help a lame dog over a stile: see dog n.¹ Phrases 5.

ΚΠ

c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints (1885) I. 220 Þa læg þær sum creopare lama fram cild-hade.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9719 Vðer þe lome [c1300 Otho lame] mon.

1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) 2 Sam. v. 8 A blynde man and lame schulen not entre in to the temple.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8136 An heremite þar þai fand at ham, In þat montan, was halt and lam.

a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 512 Up she stert, halfe lame, And skantly could go For payne and for wo.

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xix. 26 Thy seruant sayd, I will saddle me an asse that I may ride thereon,..because thy seruant is lame .

1763 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting III. i. 43 He hurt his hip at the fire of London and went lame for the rest of his life.

1866 C. M. Yonge Cameos lxxvii, in Monthly Packet June 490 He..kicked her down-stairs, so that she broke her leg, and went lame ever after.

1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 364 In the use of the hands we are in a manner lame.

1880 Times 18 Sept. 9/5 Lame men might be illustrious warriors like Agesilaus, bold horsemen like Scott, extraordinary swimmers like Byron.

c. Const. of, in, †on, †with (the crippled part).

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [adjective] > of limb

lamea1400

lacking1657

game1775

gammy1861

bockety1937

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12260 Þat þe poueral get sum bote, And ganging þat ar lame o fote.

c1460 Play Sacram. 768 Jonathas on thyn hand thow art but lame.

1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iv. 232 Another lame of a hande [L. manum æger].

c1645 I. Tullie Narr. Siege of Carlisle (1840) 36 Hinks,..being lame in that hand he was shot in.

1646 J. Temple Irish Rebell. (1746) 206 Her hand grew black and blew, rankled, and she was extreme lame with it.

1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 193 Lame of one Leg he was.

1685 London Gaz. No. 2072/4 A Man,..ruddy Countenance,..and lame of one of his little fingers.

1766 J. Entick Surv. London in New Hist. London IV. 285 If they were lame in their arms.

1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 5 May in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 132 Poor Marmion is lame in one of his hind legs.

d. absol.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [noun] > person

cripplec950

lameOE

maimed1340

halterc1440

maima1500

maim?a1500

Vulcan1600

lamester1639

limpard1653

vulcanist1656

lameter1823

gammy1893

hoppy1904

crip1918

gimp1925

OE Cynewulf Elene 1213 Oft him feorran to laman, limseoce, lefe cwomon.

1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xix. 120 He made lame to lepe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 19096 Þe oncall of his hali nam, Has lent us hele nu to þis lame.

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope 272 Of euery lame scabbed and of alle suche that had ony counterfaytour on theyr bodyes he tooke a peny.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xxix. 15 I was an eye unto the blynde, and a fote to the lame.

1609 S. Daniel Civile Wares (rev. ed.) iii. x. 66 Who reproues the lame, must go vpright.

1622 (?a1513) W. Dunbar Poems (Reidpeth) (1998) I. 175 Through streittis nane may mak progres, For cry of cruikit, blind and lame.

1716 J. Gay Trivia ii. 24 But above all, the groaping Blind direct, And from the pressing Throng the Lame protect.

e. said of the limb; also of footsteps, etc.

ΚΠ

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17950 His lymmes..ȝit are lame.

1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 56 Most leggs can nymbly run, though some be lame.

1651 Bp. J. Hall Susurrium cum Deo xxvi. 94 What have I got by it, but a lame shoulder, and a galled backe?

1675 W. Harbord in O. Airy Essex Papers (1890) I. 318 Had not my lame foote compelled me to make use of my Coache.

1710 London Gaz. No. 4784/4 The Thumb on his Right Hand is Lame.

1775 S. Johnson Let. 17 June (1992) II. 226 Her present qualifications for the niceties of needlework, being dim eyes and lame fingers.

1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxix. 99 Tossing..from eight to ten thousand hides, until my wrists became so lame that I gave in.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 34 Myself would work eye dim, and finger lame.

1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche ii. xxv. 24 With footsteps slow and lame They gathered up their lagging company.

†f. transferred of trees. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iii. xlvii. 522 Trees become lame when they be planted in too drie a place.

1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iii. xlvii. 522 (margin) Lame trees.

2. figurative.

a. Maimed, halting; imperfect or defective, unsatisfactory as wanting a part or parts. Said esp. of an argument, excuse, account, narrative, or the like. †Phr. lame to the ground (cf. Antrim & Down Gloss. s.v. Lame ‘A stab of a bayonet which has lamed me to the ground.’).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [adjective] > in specific way: defective or faulty > of immaterial things > of argument or excuse or narrative

lamec1374

c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde ii. Prol. 17 Disblameth my yf ony word be lame. For as myn auctor seyde so sey I.

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 218 The gold hath made his wittes lame.

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xxv. sig. Miij^v That the knowlege and contemplation of Natures operations, were lame and..imperfecte, if there folowed none actuall experience.

1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 164 b Let us yet helpe his lame Logicke as well as we may.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. i. 164 O most lame and impotent conclusion.

1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation v. 258 I will not contend much with him about the Proposition, which is lame to the ground.

1668 M. Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgm. 9 Tables, or other Repertories..are oftentimes short, and give a lame account of the Subject sought for.

1670 W. Temple Let. to Sir J. Temple in Wks. (1731) II. 245 I found the Business of admitting the Emperor into the Guarantee, went downright lame.

a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1686) III. 208 Nothing of worth or weight, can be atchieved..with a faint heart, with a lame endeavour.

1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 259 Our Argument from the Date of Phrynichus's Phœnissœ will be very lame and precarious.

1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 16 Alterations, or Tearing and pulling the Building to pieces after it is begun..makes the Building lame and Deficient.

1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. iii. 43 The Theory of Comets, which at present is very lame and defective.

1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 104 Her account was so lame and imperfect, that Mrs. Mourtray lost all patience.

1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets iv. 148 His grammatical construction is often lame and imperfect.

1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iv. 244 This certainly seems a very lame story.

b. Const. of, in (the defective part): cf. 1c. Also with to and infinitive.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [adjective] > in specific way: defective or faulty > of immaterial things > of morals or sense or character

lamec1366

cracked1527

c1366 G. Chaucer A.B.C. 76 And who so goth to you þe rihte wey Him thar not drede in soule to be lame.

a1420 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 2797 Swich vnbuxumnesse Suffred, vs make wol of seuerte lame.

1578 J. Banister Hist. Man viii. f. 98^v Idiotes and foolish bodyes, who hauyng defect in this [reason], are lame in all the rest.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme ciii. 8 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 155 What gratious he..hath done for thee, Be quick to mind, to vtter be not lame.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1623) i. iii. 63 Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense.

1651 Bp. J. Hall Susurrium cum Deo xxxv. 146 Alas, we cannot be but lame in all our obediences.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III vi, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 244/2 His thoughts grew weak, drowsy, and lame Of their intelligence.

1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. iii. 77 This course seemed to be lame in many parts.

c. Said of metrical ‘feet’ or the verses composed of them: Halting, metrically defective.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [adjective] > lame

limping1577

lame1609

knock-kneed1865

1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xv. 48 The lame feete of my rime.

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 165 Cel. That's no matter: the feet might beare y^e verses. Ros. I, but the feet were lame, and could not beare themselues without the verse.

1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires i. 6 The Prose is Fustian, and the Numbers lame.

1751 Earl of Chatham Lett. to Nephew (1804) i. 1 Your translation..is very close to the sense of the original..the numbers not lame, or rough.

3. lame duck, (a) (see duck n.¹ 9); (b) U.S. Politics, an office-holder who is not, or cannot be, re-elected; spec. (before 1933), a defeated member in the short session of Congress after a November election; also attributive; (c) a ship that is damaged, esp. one left without a means of propulsion; (d) an industry, commercial firm, etc., that cannot survive without financial help, esp. by means of a government subsidy; hence as v. transitive (rare), to help (a disabled person); to lame-duck it: to travel with difficulty; †to come by the lame post: (of news, etc.) to be behind time.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)] > be delayed

hang1494

stick?a1518

supersede1569

to cool one's heels (also feet, hooves)1576

slow1601

stay1642

retard1646

to come by the lame post1658

to cool one's toes1665

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > other national governing or legislative bodies > [noun] > in U.S.A. > member of > who cannot be re-elected

lame duck1863

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > damaged vessel

lame duck1876

society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > toilsomely

swinkc1175

labourc1438

toil1563

jaunt1575

strivea1586

tug1619

swog1637

hag1728

flog1925

to lame-duck it1943

trog1984

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > aid, help, or assist [verb (transitive)]

helpc897

filsteOE

filsenc1175

gengc1175

succourc1250

ease1330

to do succourc1374

favour1393

underset1398

supply1428

aid1450

behelp1481

adminiculate?1532

subleve1542

to help a (lame) dog over a stile1546

adjuvate1553

to stand at ——1563

assista1578

opitulate1582

stead1582

bestead1591

help out (also through)1600

serve1629

facilitate1640

auxiliate1656

juvate1708

gammon1753

lame duck1963

piggyback1968

society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [noun] > not profitable

lame duck1972

1658 F. Osborne Mem. Reigns Elizabeth & James iii, in Wks. (1673) 469 Till by a lamer Post he was advertised of his being joyfully Proclaimed in London by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen.

1701 T. Mott Let. 3 June in J. Floyer Anc. Ψυχρολουσια Revived (1706) ii. 53 Your's of the 24th of May I received, but it had the misfortune to come by the Lame Post, or else you had sooner received an Answer.

1761 H. Walpole Lett. to H. Mann 28 Dec. (1843) I. 60 Do you know what a Bull, and a Bear, and a Lame Duck are?

1863 Congress. Globe 14 Jan. 307/1 In no event..could it [sc. the Court of Claims] be justly obnoxious to the charge of being a receptacle of ‘lame ducks’ or broken down politicians.

1876 C. Chapman First Ten Years Sailor's Life at Sea x. 411 A lame duck on the sea means a ship which has been more or less damaged while crossing the perilous ocean.

1910 N.Y. Evening Post 8 Dec. 8 ‘Lame Duck Alley’..is the name they [sc. reporters] have given to a screened-off corridor in the White House offices, where statesmen who went down in the recent electoral combat may meet.

1922 N.Y. Times 6 Dec. 18/2 Senator Norris is all for the plan ‘to have the convening of Congress moved up to avoid lame-duck Congresses’.

1925 Independent (Boston, Mass.) 21 Feb. 213/1 The proposed Constitutional amendment..has been usually designated as the ‘lame-duck’ amendment.

1932 Times 14 Dec. 13/2 A ‘lame duck’ Administration was in power, and a ‘lame duck’ Congress still in being.

1933 P. A. Eaddy Hull Down xiv. 256 Our old ‘lame duck’ had not done so badly after all.

1943 N. Balchin Small Back Room 70 It's so bloody dangerous lame-ducking it home by yourself.

1963 J. Fowles Collector ii. 213 I want to be his friend and lameduck him in London.

1970 New Yorker 14 Nov. 175/3 My father, with his predilection for lame ducks, was the natural person to try to rescue it.

1972 Economist 26 Aug. 8 The Economist calls lame ducks those industries whose survival is claimed to depend on government subsidy. In the United States a lame duck is a politician whose current term is his last, owing to defeat in a primary or general election, or other reasons.

1973 Times 5 June 22/6 The Government, being at that stage still keen on its lame duck policy, refused to help, and the board went away to have a further think.

1973 Listener 29 Nov. 741/1 It is now the Congress..which will be disposing what a lame duck President may propose.

Compounds

lame-born adj.

ΚΠ

1823 ‘G. Smith’ Not Paul, but Jesus 306 The lame-born cripple.

lame-footed adj.

ΚΠ

1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. vii. §3. 81 Seldome the villaine, though much hast he make, Lame-footed Vengeance failes to ouer-take.

lame-horsed adj.

ΚΠ

1881 R. D. Blackmore Christowell (1882) xl Labouring along with the lame-horsed guns.

† lame-legged adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 515 Being skornfully rejected by Iudith the mother for that he was lame-legged.

† lame-limb adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1583 T. Watson Passionate Cent. of Loue xcviii, in Poems (1870) 134 Loue is..A Lamelimme Lust.

Draft additions 1997

Of a person: inept, naive, easily fooled; spec. unskilled in the fashionable behaviour of a particular group, socially inept. Cf. lame n.² 2. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > belief, trust, confidence > over-readiness to believe, credulity > [adjective]

lightc1475

light-eareda1530

credulous1567

over-credulous1579

credulent1584

well-believing1620

sequacious1653

implicit1694

ultrafidiana1849

lame1942

society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > [adjective] > not fit or inclined for society

moy1487

uncompanable1555

inconversable1577

unconversable1593

insociable1598

unsociable1600

dissociable1603

unconversing1643

insocial1654

incommunicative1670

segregative1685

uncommunicative1691

unsocial1731

unamicable1732

uncompanionable1748

dissocial1762

unclubbable?1764

ungregarious1829

lame1942

socially distanced1970

1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §491/9 Easy to take, lame, soft,..easily victimized.

1955 Amer. Speech 30 303 Lame. Used to describe an oaf. ‘That cat is a real lame stud’... Lame is the opposite of solid.

1961 N.Y. Times Mag. 25 June 39 Lame, square, but not beyond redemption. If you're lame, man, you can learn.

1967 Time 2 June 26 Anyone who does not know that is obviously lame..or perhaps just over 25 and into the twilight of life.

1972 W. Labov Lang. in Inner City vii. 258 To be lame means to be outside of the central group and its culture.

1990 New Statesman & Society 16 Feb. 12/1 With his top lip curled to signify contempt, he goaded an imaginary hapless friend: ‘You a lame chief, well lame, serious lame!’

1991 Sun 13 June 23/6 This DJ is lame.

1994 D. Cassidy & C. Deffaa C'mon, get Happy vi. 61 I don't want to be associated with people I think are lame.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2021).

单词	lame
释义	lamen.¹ Brit. /leɪm/, U.S. /leɪm/ Forms: Also 1500s–1600s lamm, 1600s– lame. Etymology: < French lame < Latin lām(m)ina, lāmna thin piece or plate. ? Obsolete. A thin plate, esp. of metal; a thin piece of any substance, a lamina; spec. applied to the small overlapping steel plates used in old armour. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > condition of being broad in relation to thickness > [noun] > thin plate or layer foil?c1390 spelt?a1400 leafc1475 lamin1489 lamea1586 shell1585 lamina1656 lamel1676 lamella1678 society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [noun] > plate- or scale-armour > plate or scale of platec1330 lamea1586 shell1585 scale1809 mascle1818 a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. xi. sig. Oo8 He strake Phalantus iust vpon the gorget, so as he battred the lamms therof. 1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Ali, wings. Also among armorers called lamms. 1633 J. Done tr. ‘Aristeas’ Aunc. Hist. Septuagint 47 Thinke not it was couered with Plates or Lames of Gold superficially, but was made all of solide, massie, pure, and fine Gold. 1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Nose It has a great Extent in a small Space, because it wraps up all the bony Lames that stick to the cribrous Bone. 1834 J. R. Planché Hist. Brit. Costume 223 The helmet assumes the form of the head, having moveable lames or plates at the back to guard the neck. 1869 C. Boutell tr. J. P. Lacombe Arms & Armour viii. 147 To the lower part of this demi-cuirass there was attached a system of articulated lames, or narrow plates, in their contour adapted to cover the figure. 1894 Antiquary Jan. 26 The most curious part of the present suit is the tonlet, a system of lames or half-hoops of steel, which, supported by leather straps inside, descend nearly to the knees in form of a short petticoat. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022). lamen.² Etymology: < lame adj. †1. Lameness; infirmity. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] unhealc700 untrumnessc897 adleeOE sicknessc967 cothec1000 unhealthc1000 woe?a1200 ail?c1225 lying?c1225 maladyc1275 unsoundc1275 feebless1297 languora1375 languishc1384 disease1393 aegritudea1400 lamea1400 maleasea1400 soughta1400 wilc1400 malefaction?a1425 firmityc1426 unwholesomenessc1449 ill1450 languenta1500 distemperancea1535 the valley of the shadow of death1535 affect?1537 affection?1541 distemperature1541 inability1547 sickliness1565 languishment1576 cause1578 unhealthfulness1589 crazedness1593 languorment1593 evilness1599 strickenness1599 craziness1602 distemper1604 unsoundness1605 invaletude1623 unhealthiness1634 achaque1647 unwellness1653 disailment1657 insalubrity1668 faintiness1683 queerness1687 invalidity1690 illness1692 ill health1698 ailment1708 illing1719 invalescence1724 peakingness1727 sickishness1727 valetudinariness1742 ailingness1776 brash1786 invalidism1794 poorliness1814 diseasement1826 invalidship1830 valetudinarianism1839 ailing1862 invalidhood1863 megrims1870 pourriture1890 immersement1903 bug1918 condition1920 the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] > weakness faintise1297 weaknessa1300 faintc1320 feebleness1340 languishingc1384 lamea1400 unferea1400 unferenessa1400 unwielda1400 impotence1406 imbecility?a1425 languisha1425 languoringa1438 unwieldness1437 faintnessa1440 impotency1440 infirmityc1440 debility1484 unlustiness1486 resolution1547 unwieldiness1575 languishment1576 infirmness1596 weakness1603 prostrationa1626 exolution1634 languidness1634 prosternation1650 faintingnessa1661 debilitude1669 flaccidity1676 atony1693 puniness1727 faintishness1733 adynamia1743 asthenia1802 adynamy1817 weakliness1826 tonelessness1873 atonicity1900 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 5153 I may not rise he seide for lame. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 22323 A mikel man..Luued wele wit-vten lame, Wit-vten last al his licam. c1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xxxv. 5243 He sayd, that he wald [ayl] na-thyng... Thus hapnyd till hym off this lame. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 158 Off God grit kyndnes may ȝe clame, That helpis his peple fra cruke and lame. 2. U.S. slang. A socially unsophisticated person; one who is not skilled in the behaviour patterns of a particular group. Frequently in Black English. ΚΠ 1959 Esquire Nov. 70 J A lame, one who doesn't know what's happening. A square. 1967 Trans-action Apr. 5/2 One either knows ‘what's happening’ on the street, or he is a ‘lame’... Negroes..have contributed much to the street tongue... Such expressions as ‘a lame’, ‘taking care of righteous business’..and ‘soul’ can be retraced to Negro street life. 1968 in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 331/1 Who's the lame who says he knows the game And where did he learn to play? 1971 Black Scholar Sept. 39/2 ‘You owe me some buns, lame!’ teased a tall, lanky, yellow young man. 1972 J. Wambaugh Blue Knight (1973) vi. 93 They're a couple of lames trying to groove with the Kids. They're nothing. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2021). lameadj. Brit. /leɪm/, U.S. /leɪm/ Forms: Old English lama, ( lame), loma, Middle English lomme, Middle English lome, Middle English lam, Middle English– lame. Etymology: Old English lama, lǫma (the weak declension is, from some unexplained cause, used in indefinite as well as definite context, the form in -a being, moreover, commonly used for all genders), corresponding to Old Frisian lam, lom, Old Saxon lamo (Dutch lam), Old High German lam (Middle High German lam, modern German lahm), Old Norse lame (weak) < Old Germanic lamo-; an ablaut-variant is lômjo- in Old High German luomi, Middle High German lüeme dull, slack, gentle, early modern German lumm, whence lümmel blockhead. From the same root is Old Church Slavonic lomitĭ to break. 1. Of a person or animal: a. Disabled or impaired in any way; weak, infirm; paralysed; unable to move. Const. on, of (cf. 1c). Obsolete exc. archaic. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [adjective] limphalta700 lamec725 haltc893 cripplec1230 alamedc1275 crippleda1400 left-handeda1425 limb-take1519 limp-legged1523 limpish1570 lamish1592 limping1599 spavined1647 hip-shotten1648 hamble-shanked1661 hop-legged1714 cripply1775 bockety1842 estropiated1917 the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > convulsive or paralytic disorders > [adjective] > palsy or paralysis > suffering from lamec725 paralytica1398 palsya1500 lither1513 palsied1551 shrew-run1607 stupid1634 paralysed1763 paretic1822 palsying1834 shrew-afflicted1842 shrew-struck1850 c725 Corpus Gloss. 815 Conclamatus, commotus loma. c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) v. v. 396 He wæs loma & ealra his lioma þegnunga benumen. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 2 Ða brohton hig hym ænne laman [L. paralyticum] on bedde licgende. c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 112/32 Pleuriticus, on sidan lama, uel sidadl. c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 162/1 Debilis, uel eneruatus, lame. a1250 Owl & Nightingale 363 Ȝet þu me seist on oþer schome þat ich am on mine eȝen lome. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5153 I may noght rise, i am sua lame. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 317/1 Lame of all ones lymmes, perclus. 1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxii. 93 They did thinke the childe lame of the one side. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. True Hist. Siege Ostend 63 A Germaine..who was lame of halfe his body, and simple. 1878 B. Taylor Prince Deukalion i. iv. 37 One gets old and lame, And then the Gods themselves forget their words. b. Disabled through injury to, or defect in, a limb; spec. disabled in the foot or leg, so as to walk haltingly or be unable to walk.Proverb. to help a lame dog over a stile: see dog n.¹ Phrases 5. ΚΠ c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints (1885) I. 220 Þa læg þær sum creopare lama fram cild-hade. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9719 Vðer þe lome [c1300 Otho lame] mon. 1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) 2 Sam. v. 8 A blynde man and lame schulen not entre in to the temple. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8136 An heremite þar þai fand at ham, In þat montan, was halt and lam. a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 512 Up she stert, halfe lame, And skantly could go For payne and for wo. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xix. 26 Thy seruant sayd, I will saddle me an asse that I may ride thereon,..because thy seruant is lame . View more context for this quotation 1763 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting III. i. 43 He hurt his hip at the fire of London and went lame for the rest of his life. 1866 C. M. Yonge Cameos lxxvii, in Monthly Packet June 490 He..kicked her down-stairs, so that she broke her leg, and went lame ever after. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 364 In the use of the hands we are in a manner lame. 1880 Times 18 Sept. 9/5 Lame men might be illustrious warriors like Agesilaus, bold horsemen like Scott, extraordinary swimmers like Byron. c. Const. of, in, †on, †with (the crippled part). ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [adjective] > of limb lamea1400 lacking1657 game1775 gammy1861 bockety1937 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12260 Þat þe poueral get sum bote, And ganging þat ar lame o fote. c1460 Play Sacram. 768 Jonathas on thyn hand thow art but lame. 1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iv. 232 Another lame of a hande [L. manum æger]. c1645 I. Tullie Narr. Siege of Carlisle (1840) 36 Hinks,..being lame in that hand he was shot in. 1646 J. Temple Irish Rebell. (1746) 206 Her hand grew black and blew, rankled, and she was extreme lame with it. 1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 193 Lame of one Leg he was. 1685 London Gaz. No. 2072/4 A Man,..ruddy Countenance,..and lame of one of his little fingers. 1766 J. Entick Surv. London in New Hist. London IV. 285 If they were lame in their arms. 1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 5 May in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 132 Poor Marmion is lame in one of his hind legs. d. absol. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [noun] > person cripplec950 lameOE maimed1340 halterc1440 maima1500 maim?a1500 Vulcan1600 lamester1639 limpard1653 vulcanist1656 lameter1823 gammy1893 hoppy1904 crip1918 gimp1925 OE Cynewulf Elene 1213 Oft him feorran to laman, limseoce, lefe cwomon. 1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xix. 120 He made lame to lepe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 19096 Þe oncall of his hali nam, Has lent us hele nu to þis lame. 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope 272 Of euery lame scabbed and of alle suche that had ony counterfaytour on theyr bodyes he tooke a peny. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xxix. 15 I was an eye unto the blynde, and a fote to the lame. 1609 S. Daniel Civile Wares (rev. ed.) iii. x. 66 Who reproues the lame, must go vpright. 1622 (?a1513) W. Dunbar Poems (Reidpeth) (1998) I. 175 Through streittis nane may mak progres, For cry of cruikit, blind and lame. 1716 J. Gay Trivia ii. 24 But above all, the groaping Blind direct, And from the pressing Throng the Lame protect. e. said of the limb; also of footsteps, etc. ΚΠ a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17950 His lymmes..ȝit are lame. 1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 56 Most leggs can nymbly run, though some be lame. 1651 Bp. J. Hall Susurrium cum Deo xxvi. 94 What have I got by it, but a lame shoulder, and a galled backe? 1675 W. Harbord in O. Airy Essex Papers (1890) I. 318 Had not my lame foote compelled me to make use of my Coache. 1710 London Gaz. No. 4784/4 The Thumb on his Right Hand is Lame. 1775 S. Johnson Let. 17 June (1992) II. 226 Her present qualifications for the niceties of needlework, being dim eyes and lame fingers. 1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxix. 99 Tossing..from eight to ten thousand hides, until my wrists became so lame that I gave in. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 34 Myself would work eye dim, and finger lame. 1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche ii. xxv. 24 With footsteps slow and lame They gathered up their lagging company. †f. transferred of trees. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iii. xlvii. 522 Trees become lame when they be planted in too drie a place. 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique iii. xlvii. 522 (margin) Lame trees. 2. figurative. a. Maimed, halting; imperfect or defective, unsatisfactory as wanting a part or parts. Said esp. of an argument, excuse, account, narrative, or the like. †Phr. lame to the ground (cf. Antrim & Down Gloss. s.v. Lame ‘A stab of a bayonet which has lamed me to the ground.’). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [adjective] > in specific way: defective or faulty > of immaterial things > of argument or excuse or narrative lamec1374 c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde ii. Prol. 17 Disblameth my yf ony word be lame. For as myn auctor seyde so sey I. 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 218 The gold hath made his wittes lame. 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xxv. sig. Miij^v That the knowlege and contemplation of Natures operations, were lame and..imperfecte, if there folowed none actuall experience. 1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 164 b Let us yet helpe his lame Logicke as well as we may. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. i. 164 O most lame and impotent conclusion. View more context for this quotation 1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation v. 258 I will not contend much with him about the Proposition, which is lame to the ground. 1668 M. Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgm. 9 Tables, or other Repertories..are oftentimes short, and give a lame account of the Subject sought for. 1670 W. Temple Let. to Sir J. Temple in Wks. (1731) II. 245 I found the Business of admitting the Emperor into the Guarantee, went downright lame. a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1686) III. 208 Nothing of worth or weight, can be atchieved..with a faint heart, with a lame endeavour. 1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 259 Our Argument from the Date of Phrynichus's Phœnissœ will be very lame and precarious. 1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 16 Alterations, or Tearing and pulling the Building to pieces after it is begun..makes the Building lame and Deficient. 1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. iii. 43 The Theory of Comets, which at present is very lame and defective. 1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 104 Her account was so lame and imperfect, that Mrs. Mourtray lost all patience. 1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets iv. 148 His grammatical construction is often lame and imperfect. 1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iv. 244 This certainly seems a very lame story. b. Const. of, in (the defective part): cf. 1c. Also with to and infinitive. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [adjective] > in specific way: defective or faulty > of immaterial things > of morals or sense or character lamec1366 cracked1527 c1366 G. Chaucer A.B.C. 76 And who so goth to you þe rihte wey Him thar not drede in soule to be lame. a1420 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 2797 Swich vnbuxumnesse Suffred, vs make wol of seuerte lame. 1578 J. Banister Hist. Man viii. f. 98^v Idiotes and foolish bodyes, who hauyng defect in this [reason], are lame in all the rest. c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme ciii. 8 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 155 What gratious he..hath done for thee, Be quick to mind, to vtter be not lame. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1623) i. iii. 63 Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense. 1651 Bp. J. Hall Susurrium cum Deo xxxv. 146 Alas, we cannot be but lame in all our obediences. a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III vi, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 244/2 His thoughts grew weak, drowsy, and lame Of their intelligence. 1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. iii. 77 This course seemed to be lame in many parts. c. Said of metrical ‘feet’ or the verses composed of them: Halting, metrically defective. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [adjective] > lame limping1577 lame1609 knock-kneed1865 1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xv. 48 The lame feete of my rime. a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 165 Cel. That's no matter: the feet might beare y^e verses. Ros. I, but the feet were lame, and could not beare themselues without the verse. View more context for this quotation 1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires i. 6 The Prose is Fustian, and the Numbers lame. 1751 Earl of Chatham Lett. to Nephew (1804) i. 1 Your translation..is very close to the sense of the original..the numbers not lame, or rough. 3. lame duck, (a) (see duck n.¹ 9); (b) U.S. Politics, an office-holder who is not, or cannot be, re-elected; spec. (before 1933), a defeated member in the short session of Congress after a November election; also attributive; (c) a ship that is damaged, esp. one left without a means of propulsion; (d) an industry, commercial firm, etc., that cannot survive without financial help, esp. by means of a government subsidy; hence as v. transitive (rare), to help (a disabled person); to lame-duck it: to travel with difficulty; †to come by the lame post: (of news, etc.) to be behind time. ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)] > be delayed hang1494 stick?a1518 supersede1569 to cool one's heels (also feet, hooves)1576 slow1601 stay1642 retard1646 to come by the lame post1658 to cool one's toes1665 society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > other national governing or legislative bodies > [noun] > in U.S.A. > member of > who cannot be re-elected lame duck1863 society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > damaged vessel lame duck1876 society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > toilsomely swinkc1175 labourc1438 toil1563 jaunt1575 strivea1586 tug1619 swog1637 hag1728 flog1925 to lame-duck it1943 trog1984 the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > aid, help, or assist [verb (transitive)] helpc897 filsteOE filsenc1175 gengc1175 succourc1250 ease1330 to do succourc1374 favour1393 underset1398 supply1428 aid1450 behelp1481 adminiculate?1532 subleve1542 to help a (lame) dog over a stile1546 adjuvate1553 to stand at ——1563 assista1578 opitulate1582 stead1582 bestead1591 help out (also through)1600 serve1629 facilitate1640 auxiliate1656 juvate1708 gammon1753 lame duck1963 piggyback1968 society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [noun] > not profitable lame duck1972 1658 F. Osborne Mem. Reigns Elizabeth & James iii, in Wks. (1673) 469 Till by a lamer Post he was advertised of his being joyfully Proclaimed in London by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen. 1701 T. Mott Let. 3 June in J. Floyer Anc. Ψυχρολουσια Revived (1706) ii. 53 Your's of the 24th of May I received, but it had the misfortune to come by the Lame Post, or else you had sooner received an Answer. 1761 H. Walpole Lett. to H. Mann 28 Dec. (1843) I. 60 Do you know what a Bull, and a Bear, and a Lame Duck are? 1863 Congress. Globe 14 Jan. 307/1 In no event..could it [sc. the Court of Claims] be justly obnoxious to the charge of being a receptacle of ‘lame ducks’ or broken down politicians. 1876 C. Chapman First Ten Years Sailor's Life at Sea x. 411 A lame duck on the sea means a ship which has been more or less damaged while crossing the perilous ocean. 1910 N.Y. Evening Post 8 Dec. 8 ‘Lame Duck Alley’..is the name they [sc. reporters] have given to a screened-off corridor in the White House offices, where statesmen who went down in the recent electoral combat may meet. 1922 N.Y. Times 6 Dec. 18/2 Senator Norris is all for the plan ‘to have the convening of Congress moved up to avoid lame-duck Congresses’. 1925 Independent (Boston, Mass.) 21 Feb. 213/1 The proposed Constitutional amendment..has been usually designated as the ‘lame-duck’ amendment. 1932 Times 14 Dec. 13/2 A ‘lame duck’ Administration was in power, and a ‘lame duck’ Congress still in being. 1933 P. A. Eaddy Hull Down xiv. 256 Our old ‘lame duck’ had not done so badly after all. 1943 N. Balchin Small Back Room 70 It's so bloody dangerous lame-ducking it home by yourself. 1963 J. Fowles Collector ii. 213 I want to be his friend and lameduck him in London. 1970 New Yorker 14 Nov. 175/3 My father, with his predilection for lame ducks, was the natural person to try to rescue it. 1972 Economist 26 Aug. 8 The Economist calls lame ducks those industries whose survival is claimed to depend on government subsidy. In the United States a lame duck is a politician whose current term is his last, owing to defeat in a primary or general election, or other reasons. 1973 Times 5 June 22/6 The Government, being at that stage still keen on its lame duck policy, refused to help, and the board went away to have a further think. 1973 Listener 29 Nov. 741/1 It is now the Congress..which will be disposing what a lame duck President may propose. Compounds lame-born adj. ΚΠ 1823 ‘G. Smith’ Not Paul, but Jesus 306 The lame-born cripple. lame-footed adj. ΚΠ 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iii. vii. §3. 81 Seldome the villaine, though much hast he make, Lame-footed Vengeance failes to ouer-take. lame-horsed adj. ΚΠ 1881 R. D. Blackmore Christowell (1882) xl Labouring along with the lame-horsed guns. † lame-legged adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 515 Being skornfully rejected by Iudith the mother for that he was lame-legged. † lame-limb adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1583 T. Watson Passionate Cent. of Loue xcviii, in Poems (1870) 134 Loue is..A Lamelimme Lust. Draft additions 1997 Of a person: inept, naive, easily fooled; spec. unskilled in the fashionable behaviour of a particular group, socially inept. Cf. lame n.² 2. slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > belief, trust, confidence > over-readiness to believe, credulity > [adjective] lightc1475 light-eareda1530 credulous1567 over-credulous1579 credulent1584 well-believing1620 sequacious1653 implicit1694 ultrafidiana1849 lame1942 society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > [adjective] > not fit or inclined for society moy1487 uncompanable1555 inconversable1577 unconversable1593 insociable1598 unsociable1600 dissociable1603 unconversing1643 insocial1654 incommunicative1670 segregative1685 uncommunicative1691 unsocial1731 unamicable1732 uncompanionable1748 dissocial1762 unclubbable?1764 ungregarious1829 lame1942 socially distanced1970 1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §491/9 Easy to take, lame, soft,..easily victimized. 1955 Amer. Speech 30 303 Lame. Used to describe an oaf. ‘That cat is a real lame stud’... Lame is the opposite of solid. 1961 N.Y. Times Mag. 25 June 39 Lame, square, but not beyond redemption. If you're lame, man, you can learn. 1967 Time 2 June 26 Anyone who does not know that is obviously lame..or perhaps just over 25 and into the twilight of life. 1972 W. Labov Lang. in Inner City vii. 258 To be lame means to be outside of the central group and its culture. 1990 New Statesman & Society 16 Feb. 12/1 With his top lip curled to signify contempt, he goaded an imaginary hapless friend: ‘You a lame chief, well lame, serious lame!’ 1991 Sun 13 June 23/6 This DJ is lame. 1994 D. Cassidy & C. Deffaa C'mon, get Happy vi. 61 I don't want to be associated with people I think are lame. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2021). lamev. Brit. /leɪm/, U.S. /leɪm/ Etymology: < lame adj.; Old English had lęmian of equivalent formation (= Old Norse lęmja) which did not survive into Middle English. a. transitive. To make lame; to cripple. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > maiming or mutilation > maim or mutilate [verb (transitive)] wemc900 slaya1000 alithOE hamblea1050 belimbc1225 dismember1297 lamec1300 maimc1325 shearc1330 unablec1380 emblemishc1384 magglec1425 magc1450 demember1491 disablea1492 manglea1500 menyie?a1513 mayhem1533 mutilatec1570 martyr1592 stump1596 bemaim1605 cripplea1616 martyrize1615 deartuate1623 hamstring1641 becripple1660 limb1674 truncate1727 dislimb1855 c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2755 Hwan he hauede him so shamed, His hand of plat, and yuele lamed. c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1836 Þen was Coryneus a-schamed Þat he was for þe geaunt lamed. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 286/1 Lamyn, or make lame, acclaudico (MS. K. claudico). 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 1917 Hys stede was lamed. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) iv. 284 The kyng, throu his cheuelry, Wes laid at Erd and lamyt [1489 Adv. lawit] bath. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. vii. 7 I cannot helpe it now, Vnlesse by vsing meanes I lame the foote Of our designe. View more context for this quotation 1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 164 Covetousnesse..lames the hand to good works. 1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Cock & Fox in Fables 247 The Son and Heir..Affronted once a Cock of noble Kind, And either lam'd his Legs, or struck him blind. 1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 183 They killed Eleven or Twelve..and lamed as many. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 172 A spear Down-glancing lamed the charger. b. transferred and figurative. To cripple, maim, disable. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > inability > render unable [verb (transitive)] unablec1380 unablec1380 disable1548 lame1568 founder1590 disenable1604 discapacitate1660 incapacitate1666 uncapacitate1668 incapacify1683 dishabilitate1871 1568 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlvii. 51 Now ȝe ar lamit fra labour, I lament it. a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) v. ii. 57 I neuer heard of such another Encounter; which lames Report to follow it. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) v. vi. 163 For Feature, laming The Shrine of Venus, or straight-pight Minerua. View more context for this quotation 1699 W. Dampier Voy. & Descr. ii. vi. 129 We kept firing at her, in hopes to have lamed either Mast or Yard. 1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. iv. x. 499 The Spanish Navy got well lamed in the business. 1868 Ld. Tennyson Lucretius 123 My mind Stumbles, and all my faculties are lamed. 1878 E. Jenkins Haverholme 45 Lamed by the reticence imposed on him as a condition of his office, he had made a halting explanation. Derivatives lamed adj. /leɪmd/ also absol. ΚΠ 1567 Gude & Godly Ball. (S.T.S.) 67 He haillit the seik, sair, lamit, and blinde. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. xii. sig. Pp5^v His minde was euill wayted-on by his lamed force, so as he receyued still more and more woundes. 1602 F. Herring tr. J. Oberndorf Anatomyes True Physition 4 One-eyed or lamed Fencers. 1839 T. Carlyle Chartism iii. 23 That was a broken reed to lean on..and did but run into his lamed right-hand. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹a1586n.²a1400adj.c725v.c1300
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lamen.1

lamen.2

lameadj.

Compounds

Draft additions 1997

lamev.

Derivatives

lamen.¹

lamen.²