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• gamy
  gamy

  adjective

  having the tangy flavor or odor of game.
• -gamy
  -gamy

  a combining form with the meanings “marriage,” “union,” “fertilization, pollination,” of the kind specified by the initial element: exogamy; plastogamy; allogamy; also forming nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -gamous: heterogamy.

gamy

¹ American  

[gey-mee] / ˈgeɪ mi /

Or gamey

adjective

gamier, gamiest

1. having the tangy flavor or odor of game.

   I like the gamy taste of venison.

2. having the flavor or odor of game or other meat kept uncooked until slightly tainted.

   The roast was still edible but was slightly gamy.

3. plucky; spirited.

4. lewd or suggestive; risqué.

5. gross or squalid; unwholesome.

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-gamy ² American  

1. a combining form with the meanings “marriage,” “union,” “fertilization, pollination,” of the kind specified by the initial element: exogamy; plastogamy; allogamy; also forming nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -gamous: heterogamy.

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-gamy British  

combining form

1. denoting marriage or sexual union

   bigamy

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Usage

What does -gamy mean? The combining form -gamy is used like a suffix with a variety of meanings. In terms from botany, it typically means "fertilization, pollination.“ In other contexts, -gamy is used to mean "marriage" or "union."The form -gamy is also used to form nouns related to terms ending in -gamous. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology. The form -gamy comes from Greek -gamía, meaning “act of marrying.”What are variants of -gamy?While -gamy doesn't have any variants, it is related to the form -gamous, as in cleistogamous. Additional combining forms of the same general origin include gamet-, gameto-, and gamo-. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for the forms.

Other Word Forms

• gamily
  adverb
• ungamy
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gamy¹

First recorded in 1835–45; game ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of -gamy²

Combining form representing Greek -gamía “act of marrying”

Example Sentences

The lean, gamy meat is popular with bodybuilders and the health-conscious.

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2021

The chorizo and the gamy lamb were too dry and lean.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 21, 2020

The gamy crime comedy “High on the Hog” rips off two kinds of “grindhouse” — the actual low-budget exploitation pictures of yore, and Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s stylishly ironic 2007 homage.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2019

Three hours later, there was a rank, stubborn, gamy taste in my mouth, and no amount of beer-rinsing or tooth-brushing would get rid of it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2018

But lugging all those buckets of water up to the house was hard work, and I would put off bathing until I was feeling pretty gamy.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls