I. ˈlām adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English lama; akin to Old Saxon & Old High German lam lame, crippled, Old Norse lami lame, Middle Welsh llyveithin weak, Lithuanian lìmti to break down, and perhaps to Greek nō lemes untiringly
1.
a. : physically disabled ; also : having a part and especially a limb so disabled as to impair freedom of movement
b. : halting in movement : limping
2. : lacking needful parts : ill composed : weak , inarticulate , halting
put up some story to the rector — it must have been a pretty lame one — Dorothy Sayers
a broken leg is not so bad as a lame intellect — Irving Bacheller
machines, at their best, are lame counterfeits of living organisms — Lewis Mumford
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English lamen, from lame, adjective
1. : to make lame : cripple
was lamed for life, and could never ride horseback again — Willa Cather
2. : to make impotent or vain : disable , frustrate , hamstring , maim , nullify , undercut
lamed the productive and recuperative capacities of Europe generally — G.F.Kennan
that would lame your power of bargaining with him — G.B.Shaw
schools lamed by losses of staff — C.E.Montague
III.
chiefly Scotland
variant of loam
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin lamina
1. : a thin plate (as of metal) : lamina
2. lames plural : small overlapping steel plates joined to slide on one another and form a piece of medieval armor
V. adjective
1. slang : not being in the know : square
2.
a. : inferior
a lame school
b. : contemptible : nasty
lame racist jokes
VI. ˈlām noun
( -s )
slang : a person who is not in the know