lame
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English lame, from Old English lama (“lame”), from Proto-West Germanic *lam, from Proto-Germanic *lamaz (“lame”), from Proto-Indo-European *lem- (“to crush; fragile”).[1]
AdjectiveEdit
lame (comparative lamer, superlative lamest)
- Unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs.
- Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect or temporary obstruction of a function.
- a lame leg, arm or muscle
- (by extension) Hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect.
- a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). Of Industry in General”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC:
- a lame endeavour
- c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
- O, most lame and impotent conclusion! […]
- 1801, Isaac Watts, The improvement of the mind, or A supplement to the art of logic:
- It is the remark of an ingenious writer, should a barbarous Indian, who had never seen a palace or a ship, view their separate and disjointed parts, and observe the pillars, doors, windows, cornices and turrets of the one, or the prow and stern, the ribs and masts, the ropes and shrouds, the sails and tackle of the other, he would be able to form but a very lame and dark idea of either of those excellent and useful inventions.
- 1856, J. W. Redhouse, An English and Turkish Dictionary[1], page xx:
- The ی consonant is our English y […] It is really a sad mistake for us, who possess this useful consonant, to adopt the lame expedient to which other languages are forced to have recourse, namely, the use of the vowel i, with or without the diaresis over it.
- (slang) Unconvincing or unbelievable.
- He had a really lame excuse for missing the birthday party.
- (slang) Failing to be cool, funny, interesting or relevant.
- He kept telling these extremely lame jokes all night.
Usage notesEdit
Referring to a person without a disability as “lame” is offensive to many as it suggests a derogatory characterization of the physical condition from which the term was derived.
SynonymsEdit
- (unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs): crippled
- (moving with difficulty):
- (by extension, hobbling): hobbling, limping, inefficient, imperfect
- (slang, unconvincing): weak, unbelievable
- (slang, failing to be cool, funny, interesting, or relevant): boring, pathetic, uncool, unfunny, uninteresting, irrelevant
AntonymsEdit
- (unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs):
- (moving with difficulty):
- (by extension, hobbling): efficient, perfect
- (slang, unconvincing): convincing, believable
- (slang, failing to be cool, funny, interesting, or relevant): cool, funny, interesting, relevant
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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VerbEdit
lame (third-person singular simple present lames, present participle laming, simple past and past participle lamed)
- (transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to become lame.
- 1877, Anna Sewell, Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC:
- And if you don't want to lame your horse you must look sharp and get them [stones stuck in hooves] out quickly.
- 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 6, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
- Now her soul felt lamed in itself. It was her hope that was struck.
TranslationsEdit
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NounEdit
lame (plural lames)
- (prison slang) A stupid or undesirable person.
- 2011, Lil' Kim, Black Friday (song)
- You lames tryna clone my style and run wit it.
- 2011, Lil' Kim, Black Friday (song)
Etymology 2Edit
From Middle French lame, from Latin lamina.
NounEdit
lame (plural lames)
- A lamina; a thin layer or plate of material, as in certain kinds of armor.
- 2013, Paul F Walker, History of Armour 1100-1700, Crowood, →ISBN:
- This rim involved a raised rolled edge on the rerebrace that was inserted into a raised lip on the lower lame of the pauldron. This lip allows the arm to rotate without the need for leather straps and can be clearly seen carved on to the effigy […]
- 2015, Anne Curry; Malcolm Mercer, The Battle of Agincourt, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 120:
- These pauldrons are generally asymmetrical with the left pauldron wider than the right, which is cut away for the passage of the lance. It would be attached to the shoulder by points through a restored leather tab on the top lame at the apex […]
- (in the plural) A set of joined overlapping metal plates.
- Kitchen tool for scoring bread dough before baking.
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Pokorny 2365.
AnagramsEdit
EsperantoEdit
AdverbEdit
lame
EstonianEdit
EtymologyEdit
AdjectiveEdit
lame (genitive lameda, partitive lamedat, comparative lamedam, superlative kõige lamedam)
DeclensionEdit
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | lame | lamedad |
accusative | lameda | lamedad |
genitive | lameda | lamedate |
partitive | lamedat | lamedaid |
illative | lamedasse | lamedatesse lamedaisse |
inessive | lamedas | lamedates lamedais |
elative | lamedast | lamedatest lamedaist |
allative | lamedale | lamedatele lamedaile |
adessive | lamedal | lamedatel lamedail |
ablative | lamedalt | lamedatelt lamedailt |
translative | lamedaks | lamedateks lamedaiks |
terminative | lamedani | lamedateni |
essive | lamedana | lamedatena |
abessive | lamedata | lamedateta |
comitative | lamedaga | lamedatega |
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
Inherited from Latin lāmina, through the accusative lāminam. Doublet of lamine, a borrowing.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
lame f (plural lames)
Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
- → Catalan: llama
- → Italian: lama
- → Persian: لام (lâm, “microscope slide”)
Further readingEdit
- “lame”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
AnagramsEdit
FriulianEdit
EtymologyEdit
Ultimately from Latin lamina. Compare Romansch loma, lama, French lame, Italian and Venetian lama.
NounEdit
lame f (plural lamis)
GermanEdit
EtymologyEdit
From the English adjective lame.
AdjectiveEdit
lame (strong nominative masculine singular lamer, not comparable)
- (slang) boring; unimpressive
- (slang) unskilled; useless
- Ich wollte nicht sagen, dass das, was die machen, total lame ist.
- I didn’t want to say that what they are doing is totally lame.
DeclensionEdit
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
predicative | er ist lame | sie ist lame | es ist lame | sie sind lame | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | lamer | lame | lames | lame |
genitive | lamen | lamer | lamen | lamer | |
dative | lamem | lamer | lamem | lamen | |
accusative | lamen | lame | lames | lame | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der lame | die lame | das lame | die lamen |
genitive | des lamen | der lamen | des lamen | der lamen | |
dative | dem lamen | der lamen | dem lamen | den lamen | |
accusative | den lamen | die lame | das lame | die lamen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein lamer | eine lame | ein lames | (keine) lamen |
genitive | eines lamen | einer lamen | eines lamen | (keiner) lamen | |
dative | einem lamen | einer lamen | einem lamen | (keinen) lamen | |
accusative | einen lamen | eine lame | ein lames | (keine) lamen |
ItalianEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
lame f
AnagramsEdit
Mauritian CreoleEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
lame
Middle EnglishEdit
VerbEdit
lame
- To shine.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Piers Plowman to this entry?)
Norwegian NynorskEdit
Etymology 1Edit
AdjectiveEdit
lame
Etymology 2Edit
NounEdit
lame m (definite singular lameen, indefinite plural lamear, definite plural lameane)
- alternative spelling of lamé
Old FrenchEdit
NounEdit
lame f (oblique plural lames, nominative singular lame, nominative plural lames)
- blade (of a weapon)
RomanianEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
lame f
- inflection of lamă:
SpanishEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
lame
- inflection of lamer:
SwedishEdit
AdjectiveEdit
lame