lame

Etymology 1

From Middle English lame, from Old English lama (“lame”), from Proto-West Germanic *lam, from Proto-Germanic *lamaz (“lame”), from Proto-Indo-European *lem- (“to crush; fragile”).

adj

1. Unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs.
2. Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect or temporary obstruction of a function.
   a lame leg, arm or muscle
3. (by extension) Hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect.
   It is the remark of an ingenious writer, should a barbarous Indian, who had never seen a palace or a ship, view their separate and disjointed parts, and observe the pillars, doors, windows, cornices and turrets of the one, or the prow and stern, the ribs and masts, the ropes and shrouds, the sails and tackle of the other, he would be able to form but a very lame and dark idea of either of those excellent and useful inventions. 1801, Isaac Watts, The improvement of the mind, or A supplement to the art of logic
   The ی consonant is our English y[…] It is really a sad mistake for us, who possess this useful consonant, to adopt the lame expedient to which other languages are forced to have recourse, namely, the use of the vowel i, with or without the diaresis over it. 1856, J. W. Redhouse, An English and Turkish Dictionary, page xx
4. (colloquial) Unconvincing or unbelievable.
   He had a really lame excuse for missing the birthday party.
5. (colloquial) Failing to be cool, funny, interesting or relevant.
   He kept telling these extremely lame jokes all night.

verb

1. (transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to become lame.

noun

1. (prison slang) A stupid or undesirable person.
   You lames tryna clone my style and run wit it. 2011, Lil' Kim (lyrics and music), “Black Friday”

Etymology 2

From Middle French lame, from Latin lamina.

noun

1. A lamina; a thin layer or plate of material, as in certain kinds of armor.
   This rim involved a raised rolled edge on the rerebrace that was inserted into a raised lip on the lower lame of the pauldron. This lip allows the arm to rotate without the need for leather straps and can be clearly seen carved on to the effigy […] 2013, Paul F Walker, History of Armour 1100-1700, Crowood
   These pauldrons are generally asymmetrical with the left pauldron wider than the right, which is cut away for the passage of the lance. It would be attached to the shoulder by points through a restored leather tab on the top lame at the apex […] 2015, Anne Curry, Malcolm Mercer, The Battle of Agincourt, Yale University Press, page 120
2. (in the plural) A set of joined overlapping metal plates.
3. Kitchen tool for scoring bread dough before baking.