Meanings
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1
adj
Boring, weak, or not impressive.
He gave a really lame excuse for being late.
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2
adj
Unable to walk normally because of an injured or weak leg or foot.
The horse went lame after the long race.
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3
verb
To injure a person or animal so they cannot walk properly.
A sharp stone in its hoof had lamed the pony.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Word family
Forms
lamelylamenesslamerlamest
Derived forms
lamagelame-headlame-olame-streamlameasslamebrainlamebrainedlameheadlamelylamenesslameolameoid
Related forms
lamellarlamellatelamellationlamination
Etymology
From Middle English lame, from Old English lama (“lame”), from Proto-West Germanic *lam, from Proto-Germanic *lamaz (“lame”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃lemH- (“to tire; to break”).
lame
Middle English
lama
Old English
*lam
Proto-West Germanic
*lamaz
Proto-Germanic
*h₃lemH-
Proto-Indo-European
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