different between lame vs bad

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /le?m/
• Rhymes: -e?m
• Hyphenation: lame

Etymology 1

From Middle English lame, from Old English lama (“lame”), from Proto-Germanic *lamaz (“lame”), from Proto-Indo-European *lem- (“to crush; fragile”). Akin to German lahm and Dutch lam, Old Norse lami, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian lam, akin to Old Church Slavonic ?????? (lomiti, “to break”).

Adjective

lame (comparative lamer, superlative lamest)

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.

3. (by extension) Hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect.
   • a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, Of Industry in General (sermon)

     a lame endeavour

   • c. 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act II scene i^[1]:

     O, most lame and impotent conclusion! […]
4. (slang) Unconvincing or unbelievable.

5. (slang) Failing to be cool, funny, interesting or relevant.

Usage notes

Referring to a person without a disability as “lame” is offensive to many as it suggests a derogatory characterization of the physical condition from which the term was derived.

Synonyms

• (unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs): crippled
• (moving with difficulty):
• (by extension, hobbling): hobbling, limping, inefficient, imperfect
• (slang, unconvincing): weak, unbelievable
• (slang, failing to be cool, funny, interesting, or relevant): boring, pathetic, uncool, unfunny, uninteresting, irrelevant

Antonyms

• (unable to walk properly because of a problem with one's feet or legs):
• (moving with difficulty):
• (by extension, hobbling): efficient, perfect
• (slang, unconvincing): convincing, believable
• (slang, failing to be cool, funny, interesting, or relevant): cool, funny, interesting, relevant

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

lame (third-person singular simple present lames, present participle laming, simple past and past participle lamed)

1. (transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to become lame.
   • 1877, Anna Sewell, Black Beauty: And if you don't want to lame your horse you must look sharp and get them [stones stuck in hooves] out quickly.
   • 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 6

     Now her soul felt lamed in itself. It was her hope that was struck.

Translations

Noun

lame (plural lames)

1. (prison slang) A stupid or undesirable person.
   • 2011, Lil' Kim, Black Friday (song)

     You lames tryna clone my style and run wit it.

Etymology 2

From Middle French lame, from Latin lamina.

Noun

lame (plural lames)

1. A lamina; a thin layer or plate of material, as in certain kinds of armor.
   • 2013, Paul F Walker, History of Armour 1100-1700, Crowood (?ISBN):

     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 […]

   • 2015, Anne Curry, Malcolm Mercer, The Battle of Agincourt, Yale University Press (?ISBN), page 120:

     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 […]

2. (in the plural) A set of joined overlapping metal plates.

Related terms

• lamé
• lamella, lamellar

Etymology 3

Verb

lame (third-person singular simple present lames, present participle laming, simple past and past participle lamed)

1. (obsolete) To shine.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Piers Plowman to this entry?)

References

Anagrams

• -meal, Elam, Elma, Leam, Lema, Malé, alme, amel, leam, lema, male, meal, mela, mela-

Esperanto

Adverb

lame

1. lamely

Estonian

Etymology

From lamama +? -e.

Adjective

lame (genitive lameda, partitive lamedat)

1. flat

Declension

French

Etymology

Inherited from Latin l?mina, through the accusative l?minam. Doublet of lamine, a borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lam/
• Rhymes: -am
• Homophone: lames

Noun

lame f (plural lames)

1. lamina
2. blade
3. wave

Related terms

• lamé m
• lamer
• lamellaire
• lamelle
• laminer
• lamineur m

Descendants

• ? Italian: lama
• ? Persian: ???? (lâm, “microscope slide”)

Further reading

• “lame” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• mâle, mêla

Friulian

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin lamina. Compare Romansch loma, lama, French lame, Italian and Venetian lama.

Noun

lame f (plural lamis)

1. blade

German

Etymology

From the English adjective lame.

Adjective

lame

1. (slang) boring; unimpressive
2. (slang) unskilled; useless

Declension

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

• “lame” in Duden online

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?la.me/

Noun

lame f

1. plural of lama

Anagrams

• alme, male, mela

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French main.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [lame]

Noun

lame

1. hand

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Adjective

lame

1. (non-standard since 2012) definite singular of lam
2. (non-standard since 2012) plural of lam

Etymology 2

Noun

lame m (definite singular lameen, indefinite plural lamear, definite plural lameane)

1. alternative spelling of lamé

Old French

Noun

lame f (oblique plural lames, nominative singular lame, nominative plural lames)

1. blade (of a weapon)

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?lame]

Noun

lame f

1. indefinite plural of lam?
2. indefinite genitive/dative singular of lam?

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lame/, [?la.me]

Verb

lame

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of lamer.

   ¡Lame mi culo! — “Lick my asshole!”

2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of lamer.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of lamer.

   Lame. — “[He/she/it] licks.”

Swedish

Adjective

lame

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of lam.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bæd/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /bæ?d/
• (General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /b?d/
• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /b??/
• (æ-tensing) IPA^(key): /be?d/
• Rhymes: -æd

Etymology 1

From Middle English bad, badde (“wicked, evil, depraved”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a shortening of Old English bæddel (“hermaphrodite”) (for loss of -el compare Middle English muche from Old English my?el, and Middle English wenche from Old English wen?el), or at least related to it and/or to bædan (“to defile”), from Proto-Germanic *bad- (compare Old High German pad (“hermaphrodite”)). Alternatively, perhaps a loan from Old Norse into Middle English, compare Norwegian bad (“effort, trouble, fear”, neuter noun), East Danish bad (“damage, destruction, fight”, neuter noun), from the Proto-Germanic noun *bada-.

Adjective

bad (comparative worse or (slang) badder, superlative worst or (slang) baddest)

1. Unfavorable; negative; not good.

2. Not suitable or fitting.

3. Not appropriate, of manners etc.

4. Unhealthy; liable to cause health problems.

   Lard is bad for you. Smoking is bad for you, too. Grapes are bad for dogs but not for humans.

5. Sickly, unhealthy, unwell.

6. Not behaving; behaving badly; misbehaving; mischievous or disobedient.

   Stop being bad, or you will get a spanking!

7. Tricky; stressful; unpleasant.

8. Evil; wicked.

9. Faulty; not functional.

10. (of food) Spoiled, rotten, overripe.

11. (of breath) Malodorous; foul.

12. False; counterfeit; illegitimate.

13. Unskilled; of limited ability; not good.

14. Of poor physical appearance.

15. (informal) Bold and daring.
16. (slang) Good, superlative, excellent, cool.

    You is ^[sic] bad, man!

17. (of a need, want, or pain) Severe, urgent.
18. (US, slang) Overly promiscuous, licentious.
19. (slang, of a draft/check) Not covered by funds on account.

Synonyms

• (not good): unfavorable, negative; see also Thesaurus:bad
• (not suitable or fitting): inappropriate, unfit; see also Thesaurus:unsuitable
• (not appropriate, of manners etc.):
• (liable to cause health problems): unhealthful, unwholesome; see also Thesaurus:harmful
• (unhealthy; unwell): ill, poorly, sickly; see also Thesaurus:ill
• (tricky; stressful; unpleasant): foul, loathsome; see also Thesaurus:unpleasant
• (evil; wicked): wicked, evil, vile, vicious; see also Thesaurus:evil
• (not functional): faulty, inoperative; see also Thesaurus:out of order
• (of food): rotten; see also Thesaurus:rotten
• (of breath): malodorous, foul; see also Thesaurus:malodorous
• (false; counterfeit): false, spurious; see also Thesaurus:fake
• (of limited ability): bungling, inept; see also Thesaurus:unskilled
• (of poor physical appearance): repulsive, unsightly; see also Thesaurus:ugly
• (bold, daring): badass; see also Thesaurus:brave
• (good): see also Thesaurus:good
• (of a need or want): dire, severe, urgent; see also Thesaurus:urgent
• (overly promiscuous): see also Thesaurus:promiscuous
• (of a draft/check): rubber, hot

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Adverb

bad (comparative worse, superlative worst)

1. (now colloquial) Badly.

Translations

Noun

bad (uncountable)

1. (slang) Error, mistake.

   Sorry, my bad!
2. (countable, uncountable, economics) An item (or kind of item) of merchandise with negative value; an unwanted good.

Translations

References

Etymology 2

From Middle English bad, from Old English bæd, first and third-person singular indicative past tense of biddan (“to ask”).

Verb

bad

1. (archaic) alternative past of bid. See bade.

Etymology 3

Unknown

Verb

bad (third-person singular simple present bads, present participle badding, simple past and past participle badded)

1. (Britain, dialect, transitive) To shell (a walnut).
   • 1876, The Gloucester Journal, Oct. 7, 1876, reported in A. Gregory, “Gloucestershire Dialect,” Notes and Queries, 5th ser., 6, 148 (1876?10?28): 346

     A curious specimen of Gloucestershire dialect came out in an assault case heard by the Gloucester court magistrates on Saturday. One of the witnesses, speaking of what a girl was doing at the time the assault took place, said she was ‘badding’ walnuts in a pigstye. The word is peculiarly provincial: to ‘bad’ walnuts is to strip away the husk. The walnut, too, is often called a ‘bannut,’ and hence the old Gloucestershire phrase, ‘Come an’ bad the bannuts.’

Anagrams

• ABD, ADB, Abd., BDA, D.B.A., DAB, DBA, abd., d/b/a, dab, dba

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [b?t]

Noun

bad (plural [please provide])

1. bath

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bað, Proto-Germanic *baþ? (“bath”), cognate with English bath and English Bad.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?b?að]
• Rhymes: -ad

Noun

bad n (singular definite badet, plural indefinite bade)

1. bath, shower, swim
2. bathroom

Inflection

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?b?æ?ð], [?b?æð?]

Verb

bad

1. past tense of bede

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?b?æ?ð], [?b?æð?]

Verb

bad

1. imperative of bade

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?t/
• Hyphenation: bad
• Rhymes: -?t

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch bat, from Old Dutch *bath, from Proto-Germanic *baþ?.

Noun

bad n (plural baden, diminutive badje n)

1. bath

Derived terms

Related terms

• baden

Descendants

• Afrikaans: bad

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

bad

1. singular past indicative of bidden

Gothic

Romanization

bad

1. Romanization of ????????????

Indonesian

Etymology

From Persian ???? (bâd, “wind”).

Noun

bad (first-person possessive badku, second-person possessive badmu, third-person possessive badnya)

1. (archaic) wind

   Synonym: angin

Lushootseed

Noun

bad

1. father

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bað, from Proto-Germanic *baþ? (“bath”).

Noun

bad n (definite singular badet, indefinite plural bad, definite plural bada or badene)

1. a bath

   et varmt bad - a hot bath

2. a bathroom (see also baderom)

Derived terms

• blodbad
• boblebad

Related terms

• bade

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• (of be) ba

Verb

bad

1. imperative of bade
2. simple past of be
3. simple past of bede

References

• “bad” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bað.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b??d/

Noun

bad n (definite singular badet, indefinite plural bad, definite plural bada)

1. a bath

   eit varmt bad - a hot bath

2. a bathroom

Synonyms

• (bathroom): baderom

Derived terms

• blodbad
• boblebad

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b??/

Verb

bad

1. past of be

References

• “bad” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b??d/

Verb

b?d

1. first/third-person singular preterite of b?dan

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• bed

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bað/

Verb

bad

1. inflection of is:
   1. third-person singular past subjunctive
   2. third-person singular/second-person plural imperative

Mutation

Palauan

Etymology

From Pre-Palauan *baðu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *batu, from Proto-Austronesian *batu. Cognate with Kavalan btu,Tagalog bato, Malay batu, Maori whatu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bað/

Noun

bad

1. stone; rock

Polish

Etymology

From German Bad, from Middle High German, from Old High German bad, from Proto-West Germanic *baþ, from Proto-Germanic *baþ?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bat/

Noun

bad m inan

1. (obsolete) health resort, bath

Declension

Synonyms

• kurort

Further reading

• bad in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

bad m (genitive singular baid, plural badan)

1. place, spot
2. tuft, bunch
3. flock, group
4. thicket, clump (of trees)

Synonyms

• (place): spot

Derived terms

• anns a' bhad
• reul-bhad

Somali

Noun

bad ?

1. sea

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish badh, from Old Norse bað, from Proto-Germanic *baþ?, from the zero-grade of Proto-Indo-European *b?eh?-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b??d/

Noun

bad n

1. a bath, the act of bathing
2. a bath, a place for bathing (badplats, badhus)

Declension

Related terms

• bada
• badkar
• badrum
• havsbad
• kallbad
• karbad
• varmbad
• vinterbad
• ångbad

Verb

bad

1. past tense of be.
2. past tense of bedja.

References

• bad in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Volapük

Noun

bad (nominative plural bads)

1. evil, badness

Declension

See also

• badik
• badiko

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba?d/

Etymology 1

From Old English b?t.

Noun

bad m (plural badau)

1. boat

   Synonyms: cwch, llong

Derived terms

• bad achub (“lifeboat”)

Etymology 2

Noun

bad f (uncountable)

1. plague, pestilence

   Synonyms: pla, haint

Derived terms

• y fad fawr (“the Great Plague”)

Mutation