gamb

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word gamb. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word gamb, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say gamb in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word gamb you have here. The definition of the word gamb will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofgamb, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

The canting arms of Gambon on the viewer's right.

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle French gambe (variant of jambe) from Late Latin gamba (hoof, leg, shank). Doublet of jamb, gamba, and gam.

Pronunciation

Noun

gamb (plural gambs)

  1. (heraldry) The leg or shank, typically of an animal, especially of a lion, on a coat of arms, crest, etc.
    • 1817, Alexander Deuchar, British Crests: containing the crests and mottos of the families of Great Britain and Ireland; together with those of the principal cities; and a glossary of heraldic terms ... Embellished with nearly fourteen hundred crests, engraved by Robert Kirkwood, from original drawings, by G. Sanders, and J. Grant, page 284:
      Vachell, Eng. a bull's gamb in pale, couped, argent. […] Vaughan of Littleton, Middlesex, a lion's gamb, or, holding a human heart, gules.
  2. (slang) A person's leg; gam.
    • 1954, Gerald Kersh, Guttersnipe: Little Novels, page 211:
      […] but Heavens above what a pair of gambs! Stems. What the vulgar call legs.

Usage notes

  • Compare jambe, which can refer to a human or animal leg, the former especially if in armor.

Further reading

  • “gamb, n.”, in Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2013 March, retrieved December 2018
  • “gamb”, in Merriam Webster, 2018 December (last accessed)
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia