lame

[ leym ]

/ leɪm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lame ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, lam·er, lam·est.

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

impaired or disabled through defect or injury: a lame arm.

weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy: a lame excuse.

Slang. out of touch with modern fads or trends; unsophisticated.

verb (used with object), lamed, lam·ing.

to make lame or defective.

noun

Slang. a person who is out of touch with modern fads or trends, especially one who is unsophisticated.

Nearby words

Origin of lame

before 900; Middle English (adj. and v.); Old English lama (adj.); cognate with Dutch lam, German lahm, Old Norse lami; akin to Lithuanian lúomas

Related formslame·ly, adverblame·ness, noun

Can be confusedlame lamé

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

Examples from the Web for lameness

I have conflicting feelings of lameness and warm fuzzies: I'm only worried because I really do respect him.
The D.C. Sex Blogger on How She Went From Slut to Housewife|Jessica Cutler|December 10, 2008|DAILY BEAST
She's cured of her lameness now, and is grown up to be a very pretty girl, Bailey said.
Georgina's Service Stars|Annie Fellows Johnston
She never had no lameness, she says; her trouble 's all in her ribs,—them ribs 't go from under your arms down.
Susan Clegg and Her Friend Mrs. Lathrop|Anne Warner
In many instances, as soon as the subject has traveled a considerable distance, lameness diminishes or discontinues.
Lameness of the Horse|John Victor Lacroix

"You will understand—his lameness makes him a little self-conscious with strangers," she explained.
The Hermit of Far End|Margaret Pedler
All trace of the lameness seemed to be gone, greatly to Julia's surprise.
Brenda, Her School and Her Club|Helen Leah Reed

British Dictionary definitions for lameness

lamé

/ (ˈlɑːmeɪ) /

noun

a fabric of silk, cotton, or wool interwoven with threads of metal
(as modifier)a gold lamé gown

Word Origin for lamé

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

lame

/ (leɪm) /

adjective

disabled or crippled in the legs or feet

painful or weaka lame back

weak; unconvincinga lame excuse

not effective or enthusiastica lame try

US slang conventional or uninspiring

verb

(tr) to make lame

Derived Formslamely, adverblameness, noun

Word Origin for lame

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

lame

/ (leɪm) /

noun

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

Word Origin for lame

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

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 lameness

lameness

1520s, from lame (adj.) + -ness.

lame

"silk interwoven with metallic threads," 1922, from French lame, earlier "thin metal plate (especially in armor), gold wire; blade; wave (of the sea)," from Middle French lame, from Latin lamina, lamna "thin piece or flake of metal."

lame

adj.

Old English lama "crippled, lame; paralytic, weak," from Proto-Germanic *lamon (cf. Old Norse lami, Dutch and Old Frisian lam, German lahm "lame"), "weak-limbed," literally "broken," from PIE root *lem- "to break; broken," with derivatives meaning "crippled" (cf. Old Church Slavonic lomiti "to break," Lithuanian luomas "lame"). In Middle English, "crippled in the feet," but also "crippled in the hands; disabled by disease; maimed." Sense of "socially awkward" is attested from 1942. Noun meaning "crippled persons collectively" is in late Old English.

lame

"to make lame," c.1300, from lame (adj.). Related: Lamed; laming.

Medicine definitions for lameness

lame

[ lām ]

adj.

Disabled so that movement, especially walking, is difficult or impossible.

Marked by pain or rigidness.

v.

To cause to become lame; cripple.

lame

adjective, lam·er, lam·est.

verb (used with object), lamed, lam·ing.

noun

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