lame

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈleɪm/ UK /leɪm/ See IPA manual

Freq #4190

Meanings

1

adj
Boring, weak, or not impressive.

He gave a really lame excuse for being late.
2

adj
Unable to walk normally because of an injured or weak leg or foot.

The horse went lame after the long race.
3

verb
To injure a person or animal so they cannot walk properly.

A sharp stone in its hoof had lamed the pony.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · boring, weak, or not... weak

2 adj · unable to walk normally... crippled

3 verb · to injure a person or... cripple disable

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

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# lame

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈleɪm/
**IPA (UK):** /leɪm/
**Frequency rank:** 4190

## Meanings
1. Boring, weak, or not impressive.
2. Unable to walk normally because of an injured or weak leg or foot.
3. To injure a person or animal so they cannot walk properly.

## Examples
- He gave a really lame excuse for being late.
- The horse went lame after the long race.
- A sharp stone in its hoof had lamed the pony.

## Derived Forms
- lamage
- lame-head
- lame-o
- lame-stream
- lameass
- lamebrain
- lamebrained
- lamehead
- lamely
- lameness
- lameo
- lameoid

## Related Forms
- lamellar
- lamellate
- lamellation
- lamination

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lame
- Root: lama
- Root: *lam
- Root: *lamaz
- Root: *h₃lemH-

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Lame comes 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”).

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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