lame

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (5)  · 
“
He had mentioned "the lame fellow," using a German word "der Stelze."

View all »
Definitions (21)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. adjective Disabled so that movement, especially walking, is difficult or impossible: Lame from the accident, he walked with a cane. A lame wing kept the bird from flying.
  2. adjective Marked by pain or rigidness: a lame back.
  3. adjective Weak and ineffectual; unsatisfactory: a lame attempt to apologize; lame excuses for not arriving on time.
2 more from this dictionary »

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (9)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (5)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • Because of his own pain and feebleness he felt sorrier than ever before for the lame, and blind, and hungry beggars who came to his door, and his only pleasure was in giving them money and clothes and food As he listened to the talk in the market-place by day, and in his father's house at evening, he heard many stories of the wars. —  God's Troubadour, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi
  • We've pointed out in the past that you don't compete against piracy by being lame, and you have to give Hulu at least some kudus for doing its best early on not to be lame (despite plenty of expectations to the contrary). —  Techdirt
  • The making of such a quilt is a work of oriental patience Illustration: ORIGINAL ROSE DESIGN MADE IN 1840 The maker was lame, and only able to walk about in her garden. —  Quilts Their Story and How to Make Them
  • Anthony is lame, and one of the most dreaded boys in Saint Dominic's. —  The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's A School Story
  • "You think I'd be more cheerful company I think," she said, with a pretty gravity, "you make too much of being a--lame duck. —  The House of Toys
More examples »
 

Tags

lame hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 158 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (6)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English, from Old English lama.
  2. French, from Old French, from Latin lāmina, thin plate.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English lame, from Anglo-Saxon lama = Old Saxon lam = OFries. lom, lam = Dutch lam = MLG, lam, Old High German Middle High German lam, G. lahm = Icelandic lami = Swedish Danish lam, lame; perhaps orig. ‘bruised, maimed’: cf. lam v.
  2. from Middle English lamen, from Anglo-Saxon lemian (= Old Saxon lamōn (in comp. bi-lamōn) = OFries. lema, lama = Dutch ver-lammen = Middle Low German lamen, lemen = Old High German lamēn, lemjan, Middle High German lamen, lemen, G. lähmen = Icelandic lemja, thrash, flog, beat, lame, disable, = Danish lamme = Swedish lamma), from lama, lame: see lame, a. Cf. lam, v.
  3. Also layme; an old or dial. form of loam.
  4. Early modern English also lamm; from Middle English lampe: for * lame, from Old French (and F.) lame, a plate, a blade, from Latin lamina, a thin plate: see lamina, and cf. lama.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/leɪm/
by American Heritage
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a week.

Recently looked up

stuffy · publicity · haggard · mastodon · a-hole

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

eu oi oìa u ou e u oìa · the octopi are dry · Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket