Definition of gam
slang
: leg
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Definition of gam
1
: a visit or friendly conversation at sea or ashore especially between whalers
2
: a school of whales
Origin and Etymology of gam
perhaps short for 5gammon
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 1831
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearDefinition of gam
Did You Know?
But what is a gam? You might wear out your index-finger running up and down the columns of dictionaries, and never find the word. So says the narrator, who calls himself Ishmael, of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. These days you will indeed find "gam" entered in dictionaries; Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines the noun "gam" as "a visit or friendly conversation at sea or ashore especially between whalers." (It can also mean "a school of whales.") Melville’s narrator explains that when whaling ships met far out at sea, they would hail one another and the crews would exchange visits and news. English speakers have been using the word gam to refer to these and similar social exchanges since the mid-19th century.
Origin and Etymology of gam
derivative of 2gam
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 1849
in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
See Words from the same yearLearn More about gam
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See words that rhyme with gam Britannica English: Translation of gam for Arabic speakers
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