lamdoidal

[LAMBDOIDAL.] Jamo Icel. lam i , lama : Dan lam palsied: w. lame, a. S. lama ; cogn. with Dut. lam lam; M. H. Ger. lam. The original sense probably is bruised or maimed; cf. Icel. lama =to bruise.] I. Literally: 1. Crippled, maimed, or disabled in one or more of the limbs, usually in one or both of the legs. 2. Crippled or disabled so as to be unsound or defective in strength; as, a lame leg. *3. Crippled, disabled, or impaired in any way. "Youth is nimble, age is lame." Shakesp.: Pilgrim of Love, 162. II. Figuratively : 1. Halting; not running smoothly or evenly; defective in rhyme or rhythm. "Whether in prose or verse, 'tis all the same; The prose is fustian, and the numbers lame ." Dryden: Persius, i. 2. Unsatisfactory, imperfect. "Nothing of worth or weight can be achieved with half a mind, with a faint heart, with a lame endeavor."- Bar row: Sermons, vol. iii., ser. 18.