gammy

[ gam-ee ]

adjective

, British Informal.

, gam·mi·er, gam·mi·est.

1. disabled; lame:

   a gammy leg.

gammy

/ ˈɡæmɪ /

adjective

1. slang.
   (esp of the leg) malfunctioning, injured, or lame; game US equivalentgimpy

Word History and Origins

Origin of gammy¹

First recorded in 1830–40; originally dialectal, perhaps from dialectal French; compare Norman dialect gambier “having bad legs,” gambie “lame,” Middle French gambi “bent, crooked,” all ultimately derivative of Late Latin gamba; jamb ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of gammy¹

C19: from Shelta gyamyath bad, altered form of Irish cam crooked; see game ²

Example Sentences

Jokingly adding: "But being in Rage Against the Machine and having a gammy leg is quite funny."

From BBC

Look up first what to avoid with an gammy knee or similar, rather than typing “routines for one rubbish knee” into Google.

From The Guardian

"It had a lot of memories of my gammy. She died."

From Fox News

She hobbles – a gammy left knee, I think.

From The Guardian

I am not quite as dexterous with my left hand now and I've got a little bit of a gammy leg and can't walk quite as fast.

From BBC