jamb
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L16971 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /d͡ʒæm/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English jambe, jaumbe, from Old French jambe (“leg”), from Late Latin gamba (“hock, shank, leg, thigh”), from Ancient Greek καμπή (kampḗ, “turning post, bend or flexure”). Doublet of gam, gamb, gamba, and jambe.
- Either of the vertical components that form the side of an opening in a wall, such as that of a door frame, window frame, or fireplace.
- Any thick mass of rock that prevents miners from following the lode or vein.
- Synonym of jambeau (“piece of armor for the leg”).
“Wyntoun, in his Chronicle, mentions an encounter betwixt Lindsay and a Highlander, whom he had pierced with his lance, but who, while on the ground, cut at him with his twohanded sword, and, striking through his steel jambs […]”
“The light of the moon gleamed on his steel helmet, his globular corslet, and the taces cuisses, or thigh pieces, and steel jambs which protected his legs.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English jambe, jaumbe, from Old French jambe (“leg”), from Late Latin gamba (“hock, shank, leg, thigh”), from Ancient Greek καμπή (kampḗ, “turning post, bend or flexure”). Doublet of gam, gamb, gamba, and jambe.
- To fix or attach a jamb to.