English
lambaste
First attested in 1637.
A compound of lam ‘beat’ + baste ‘beat’
Proto-Indo-European *h₃lemH- ‘weak, broken, soft’
Proto-Germanic *lamaz ‘lame’
Proto-Germanic *lamjaną ‘to lame, cripple’
Old English lemian ‘to lame’
Middle English lamen
English lam
Frankish *bastijan
Vulgar Latin *bastīre ‘to build, construct’
Old French bastir ‘build, construct, sew up (a garment)’
English baste
first attested First attested in 1637 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1637.
Today it means
verb To scold, reprimand or criticize harshly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / lambaste