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gam

1
[ gam ]
/ gæm /
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See synonyms for: gam / gammed / gamming on Thesaurus.com

noun Slang.
a person's leg, especially an attractive female leg.
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Origin of gam

1
1775–85; probably <Polari <Italian gamba leg; see jamb1

Other definitions for gam (2 of 2)

gam2
[ gam ]
/ gæm /

noun
a herd or school of whales.
Eastern New England, Nautical. a social meeting, visit, or the like, as between whaling vessels at sea.
verb (used without object), gammed, gam·ming.
(of whales) to assemble into a herd or school.
Nautical. (of the officers and crews of two whaling vessels) to visit or converse with one another for social purposes.
Eastern New England. to participate in a gam or social visit.

Origin of gam

2
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; perhaps dialectal variant of game1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gam in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gam (1 of 2)

gam1
/ (ɡæm) /

noun
a school of whales
nautical an informal visit between crew members of whalers
NZ a flock of large sea birds
verb gams, gamming or gammed
(intr) (of whales) to form a school
nautical (of members of the crews of whalers) to visit (each other) informally
(tr) US to visit or exchange visits with

Word Origin for gam

C19: perhaps dialect variant of game 1

British Dictionary definitions for gam (2 of 2)

gam2
/ (ɡæm) /

noun
slang a leg, esp a woman's shapely leg

Word Origin for gam

C18: probably from Old Northern French gambe or Lingua Franca gambe; see jamb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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