lame

¹

[leym]

adjective

lamer, lamest 

1. physically disabled, especially in the foot or leg so as to limp or walk with difficulty.

   a lame racehorse.

2. impaired or disabled through defect or injury.

   a lame arm.

3. weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy.

   a lame excuse.

4. Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.,  awkward, dull, stupid, or uninteresting.

5. Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.,  out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.

verb (used with object)

lamed, laming 

1. to make lame or defective.

noun

1. Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.,  a person who is out of touch with modern fads or trends, especially one who is unsophisticated.

lame

²

[leym, lam]

noun

Armor.

plural

lames 

1. any of a number of thin, overlapping plates composing a piece of plate armor, as a fauld, tasset, or gauntlet.

lamé

³

[lah-mey, la-, la-mey]

noun

1. an ornamental fabric in which metallic threads, as of gold or silver, are woven with silk, wool, rayon, or cotton.

lame

¹

/ leɪm /

adjective

1. disabled or crippled in the legs or feet

2. painful or weak

   a lame back

3. weak; unconvincing

   a lame excuse

4. not effective or enthusiastic

   a lame try

5. slang,  conventional or uninspiring

verb

1. (tr) to make lame

lamé

²

/ ˈlɑːmeɪ /

noun

1. 1. a fabric of silk, cotton, or wool interwoven with threads of metal

   2. ( as modifier )

      a gold lamé gown

lame

³

/ leɪm /

noun

1. one of the overlapping metal plates used in armour after about 1330; splint

Sensitive Note

Many speakers do not recognize or consider the connection between the medical and slang senses of lame . Nevertheless, using a term associated with injury or disability as a general insult is sometimes perceived as insensitive to or by people with disabilities.

Other Word Forms

• lamely adverb
• lameness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lame¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and verb); Old English lama (adjective); cognate with Dutch lam, German lahm, Old Norse lami; akin to Lithuanian lúomas

Origin of lame²

1580–90; < Middle French < Latin lāmina a thin piece or plate

Origin of lame³

1920–25; < French, equivalent to lame lame ² + -é < Latin -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lame¹

Old English lama; related to Old Norse lami, German lahm

Origin of lame²

from French, from Old French lame gold or silver thread, thin plate, from Latin lāmina thin plate

Origin of lame³

C16: via Old French from Latin lāmina a thin plate, _lamina

Example Sentences

The painting showed an old man in cracked spectacles standing beside a lame horse, in the midst of a homestead that had burned to the ground, so that only the smoking ruins remained.

Read more on Literature

“Allow me to present my colleague, Dr. Lumley,” he would announce to a lame horse or a colicky calf.

Read more on Literature

Suzuki agreed to a one-year contract, which puts him in the uncomfortable position of being a lame duck before he manages his first game.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The sooner Republicans wake up and treat him like the rabid, lame duck he is, the better off they — and the country — will be.

Read more on Salon

At the 2007 White House press dinner, Bush jokingly insisted that he wasn’t becoming a “lame duck…unless of course Cheney accidentally shoots me in the leg.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• feeble 
• flimsy 
• ineffective 
• weak