English
gam
Gam comes from Italian gamba ‘leg’, from Late Latin gamba ‘(of animals) hock, shank’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, curve’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂em-‘to bend, curve’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂emp-reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kampā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαμπήkampḗ‘fixture, bend, winding’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgamba‘(of animals) hock, shank’
- Italianc. 1300–presentsame form‘leg’
- Englishearliest quotation 2010gam
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂em-‘to bend, curve’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂emp-reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kampā́reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαμπήkampḗ‘fixture, bend, winding’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEgamba‘(of animals) hock, shank’
- Italianc. 1300–presentsame form‘leg’
- Englishearliest quotation 2010gam
Earliest quotation: 2010, Home Swell Home: Designing Your Dream Pa: “Make the salesclerk blush by flashing some gam and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, curve’
campaign, camera, champion, chamber, campus, chimney, kemp, cabaret, champaign, camaraderie, skimp, kam, cantonment, camber, campanile, chambray, campagna, 20 more
through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp-
through Late Latin gamba ‘(of animals) hock, shank’
through Italian gamba ‘leg’
Today it means
noun A person's leg, especially an attractive woman's leg.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.