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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.
Synonyms

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.


-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.


-gamy British  

combining form

  1. denoting marriage or sexual union

    bigamy

"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

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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Lamb is pretty gamy, but I love the specific flavor lamb brings to any dish.

From Seattle Times Mar. 15, 2022

An intriguing pinot, with intense flavors of cherries, tree bark and a gamy meat on a grill tantalizingly out of sight, all wrapped in silky elegance.

From Washington Post Jul. 22, 2021

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

The air is dense with the chattering of shoemakers and the gamy scents of leather and tannin and dye.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup, usually made with beef or chicken — but turkey adds a rich, gamier spin on the comforting classic.

From Salon Nov. 26, 2021

This blend works best on darker, gamier meat like turkey, duck, and goose.

From Salon Nov. 2, 2021

Here they have morphed into something glitzier and gamier.

From New York Times Jan. 18, 2018

Chicago has a less metronomic, but even gamier tradition.

From Time Magazine Archive

The quail egg Runt had brought was smaller, its speckled shell flecked with dried grass, and it smelled gamier than the ones his humans ate.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

R. 26—This proved so far the gamiest round in the fight, give and take being the order of the day, but Marr finally proved himself high cock-a-lorum, and won the round.

From Slate Jun. 2, 2019

As a crusading managing editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, he nosed out some of the gamiest scandals Chicago has spawned.

From Time Magazine Archive

Up to five months ago, when he became the central figure in the gamiest Washington scandal in years, Baker was secretary to the Senate's Democratic majority.

From Time Magazine Archive

Seldom over 2 ft. in length, the bonefish ranks among the world's gamiest.

From Time Magazine Archive

Business—just plain everyday business—is the gamiest, chanciest, most thrilling line there is to-day, and I'm for it.

From Roast Beef, Medium by Ferber, Edna

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