lame¹ (lām)
adj., lam·er, lam·est.

1. Disabled so that movement, especially walking, is difficult or impossible: Lame from the accident, he walked with a cane. A lame wing kept the bird from flying.
2. Marked by pain or rigidness: a lame back.
3. Weak and ineffectual; unsatisfactory: a lame attempt to apologize; lame excuses for not arriving on time.

tr.v., lamed, lam·ing, lames.
To cause to become lame; cripple.

[Middle English, from Old English lama.]

lamely lame'ly adv.
lameness lame'ness n.

lame² (lām)
n.
A thin metal plate, especially one of the overlapping steel plates in medieval armor.

[French, from Old French, from Latin lāmina, thin plate.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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