gamb

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle French gambe (variant of jambe) from Late Latin gamba (hoof, leg, shank). Doublet of jamb, gamba, and gam.

Pronunciation

Noun

gamb (plural gambs)

  1. (heraldry) The leg or shank, typically of an animal, especially of a lion, on a coat of arms, crest, etc.
    • 1817, Alexander Deuchar, British Crests: containing the crests and mottos of the families of Great Britain and Ireland; together with those of the principal cities; and a glossary of heraldic terms ... Embellished with nearly fourteen hundred crests, engraved by Robert Kirkwood, from original drawings, by G. Sanders, and J. Grant, page 284:
      Vachell, Eng. a bull's gamb in pale, couped, argent. […] Vaughan of Littleton, Middlesex, a lion's gamb, or, holding a human heart, gules.

Usage notes
  • Compare jambe, which can refer to a human or animal leg, the former especially if in armor.

Further reading
  • “gamb, n.”, in Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2013 March, retrieved December 2018
  • “gamb”, in Merriam Webster, 2018 December (last accessed)
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