a. [ Compar. Lamer superl. Lamest. ] [ OE. lame, AS. lama; akin to D. lam, G. lahm, OHG., Dan., & Sw. lam, Icel. 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.” Arbuthnot. “Lame in both his feet.” 2 Sam. ix. 13. “He fell, and became lame.” 2 Sam. iv. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect; as, a lame answer. “A lame endeavor.” Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

O, most lame and impotent conclusion! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lame duck (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. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Lamed p. pr. & vb. n. Laming. ] To make lame. [ 1913 Webster ]

If you happen to let child fall and lame it. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, corresponding to l. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. See Lamella. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. L. Lamellæ E. Lamellas [ L. lamella, dim. of lamina plate, leaf, layer: cf. F. lamelle. Cf. Lamina, Omelet. ] A thin plate or scale of anything, as a thin scale growing from the petals of certain flowers; or one of the thin plates or scales of which certain shells are composed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. lamellaire. ] Flat and thin; lamelliform; composed of lamellAE. -- adv. In thin plates or scales. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to lamella or to lamellae; lamellar. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ See Lamella. ] Composed of, or furnished with, thin plates or scales. See Illust. of Antennæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) One of the Lamellibranchia (also called Pelecypoda). Also used adjectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖‖ } n. pl. [ NL. See lamella, and Branchia, Branchiate. ] (Zool.) An earlier name for the class of Mollusca including all those that have bivalve shells, as the clams, oysters, mussels, etc., now called Pelecypoda or Bivalvia. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

☞ They usually have two (rarely but one) flat, lamelliform gills on each side of the body. They have an imperfectly developed head, concealed within the shell, whence they are called Acephala. Called also Conchifera, and Pelecypoda. See Bivalve. [ 1913 Webster ]