English
lame duck
Equivalent to lame + duck.
Proto-Indo-European *h₃lemH- ‘to tire’
Proto-Germanic *lamaz
Proto-West Germanic *lam
Old English lama
Middle English lame
English lame
Proto-Germanic *dūkaną ‘to dip, dive, bend down, stoop, duck’
Proto-West Germanic *dūkan ‘to dive, dive under’
Old English *dūcan ‘to dip, dive, duck’
Middle English ducken ‘to duck, plunge under water, submerge’
English duck
The story
First use appears c. 1761, in the London Evening Post. Verbal form first appears c. 1910.
Today it means
noun A person or thing that is helpless, inefficient, or disabled.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / lame duck