Lame
Lame (lām) , adjective
[Old English lame, Anglo-Saxon lama; akin to Dutch lam, German lahm, Old High German, Danish, & Swedish lam, Icelandic lami, Russ. lomate to break, lomota rheumatism.]
1.
(a) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a lame leg, arm, or muscle.
(b)
To some degree disabled by reason of the imperfect action of a limb; crippled; as, a lame man.
Lame of one leg.
Lame in both his feet.
He fell, and became lame.
2.
Hence, hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect; as, a lame answer.
A lame endeavor.
O, most lame and impotent conclusion!
Collocations (1)
Lame duck (Stock Exchange) , (a) (Stock Exchange), a person who can not fulfill his contracts. [Cant] (b) An elected politician who is completing a term after having been defeated at an election; also, an office holder who cannot or chooses not to run again for the same office; -- So called from the presumed lack of political power of one who is soon to be out of office. (b) Any office holder who is serving out a term after a replacement has been selected.
Lame (lām) , transitive verb
To make lame.
If you happen to let child fall and lame it.