LAME

I. adjective (~r; ~st) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lama; akin to Old High German lam ~, Lithuanian limti to break down Date: before 12th century 1. having a body part and especially a limb so disabled as to impair freedom of movement, marked by stiffness and soreness , lacking needful or desirable substance ; weak , ineffectual , not being in the know ; square , 4. inferior , contemptible , nasty , ~ly adverb ~ness noun II. transitive verb (~d; laming) Date: 14th century to make ~ ; cripple , to make weak or ineffective ; disable , III. noun Date: 1959 a person who is not in the know ; square , IV. noun Etymology: Middle French, from Latin lamina Date: circa 1586 a thin plate especially of metal ; lamina , small overlapping steel plates joined to slide on one another (as in medieval armor)