Dictionary.com

gam

1
[ gam ]
/ gæm /
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

Definition 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. 2021

Words related to gam

wheel, leg, extremity, stem, arm, branch, wing, chitchat, parley, tease, projection, pin, lobe, spur, bough, spray, member, process, switch, part

Example sentences from the Web for gam

  • As soon as we came near enough, "gamming" commenced, for all of us were anxious to know how each other had fared.

    The Cruise of the Cachalot|Frank T. Bullen

  • There is another little item about Gamming which must not be forgotten here.

    Moby Dick; or The Whale|Herman Melville

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

Medical definitions for gam

gam-

pref.

Variant ofgamo-
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.