gammy

adjective

gam·my ˈga-mē

British

: being a body part and especially a limb that is usually permanently impaired in function : game

a gammy leg

Examples of gammy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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And not just any old specimen with a wispy beard and a gammy leg; one fit to be declared the finest in all of Scotland. —

The Economist, 27 June 2020

Word History

Etymology

of uncertain origin

Note: A connection with game entry 4 is not well-motivated derivationally or phonetically. Also compared with regional French gambi, cambi "lame, bow-legged," though the late date of the word does not favor borrowing from such a source. The use of the word in English dialects to mean "clumsy" or "left-handed" (Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, also gammy-handed) suggests that a word of different origin and meaning may have been influenced by game entry 4.

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of gammy was in 1861

See more words from the same year