English → Latin
“lame” in Latin
dēbilisweak, frail, feeble; lame, disabled, crippled, infirm, debilitatedclauduslimping, halting, lame, crippled; wavering, imperfect, defective; halting, wavering, uncertain, untrustworthymancusmaimed, crippled, handicapped, infirm; defective, imperfectclaudicōto limp, halt, be lame; to halt, waver; be wanting, incomplete, defectivevānusvain, empty, vacant, void; unsubstantial; groundless, baseless, meaningless, pointless, worthless, ineffectual, mindlessineptusunsuitable; impertinent, improper, tasteless; senseless, silly
The English word lame itself goes back to Latin lāmina.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
lame adj.
PROPR., debilis (genitive, infirm, with an ablative of the part; e.g., lame in the hip, coxa debilis; in the hands and feet, debilis manibus pedibusque): claudus (lame in one foot): mancus (especially lame in the right hand): lame in every limb, mancus et omnibus membris captus ac debilis: to be lame, claudum esse; claudicare.
FIG. claudicans (hobbling, limping, of a speech, etc.); vanus, ineptus (foolish, silly); non justus, non idoneus (unsuitable): to be lame, claudere (Cic.; claudere, Sall., Gell., So Freund).
lame v.
clauditatem or claudicationem afferre (to occasion lameness; of disease, and of other things); aliquem or aliquid debilitare; aliquem debilem facere; aliquem claudum, mancum facere (of persons and things; Vid: the adjective).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for lame?
- The usual Latin words for “lame” are dēbilis, claudus, mancus; also claudicō, vānus, ineptus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.