gamy

or gam·ey

[gey-mee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gamy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, gam·i·er, gam·i·est.

having the tangy flavor or odor of game: I like the gamy taste of venison.

having the flavor or odor of game or other meat kept uncooked until slightly tainted: The roast was still edible but was slightly gamy.

plucky; spirited.

lewd or suggestive; risqué.

gross or squalid; unwholesome.

Origin of gamy

First recorded in 1835–45; game¹ + -y¹

Related formsgam·i·ly, adverbun·gam·y, adjective

-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.

Origin of -gamy

combining form representing Greek -gamía act of marrying

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gamy

fetid, foul, malodorous, pungent, rancid, rank, seamy, sordid, tainted, reeking

Examples from the Web for gamy

Historical Examples of gamy

He is not gamy,—fighting's not his forte, A Haycock fight is just no sort of sport.
A Phenomenal Fauna
Carolyn Wells
When the bait begins to give off a gamy scent, the mothers come.
The Life of the Fly
J. Henri Fabre
The trout were big, gamy fellows and Eddie was alert, obedient and respectful.
The Tent Dwellers
Albert Bigelow Paine
They are caught trolling and make a gamy fight on rod and reel.
Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast
Harry Thom Payne
Did you notice how gamy he was, little brother; how he played?
Little Rivers
Henry van Dyke

British Dictionary definitions for gamy

-gamy

n combining form

denoting marriage or sexual unionbigamy

Word Origin for -gamy

from Greek -gamia, from gamos marriage

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

Word Origin and History for gamy

adj.

see gamey.

-gamy

word-forming element meaning "marriage; fertilization," from Greek -gamia, from gamos "marriage" (see gamete).

gamy in Medicine

-gamy

suff.

Marriage; mate:monogamy.

Procreative or propagative union:heterogamy.