*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of gam

From Italian gamba (“leg”). Doublet of gamb, gamba, jamb, and jambe. Compare gammon and ham.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A person's leg, especially an attractive woman's leg.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Italian gamba (“leg”). Doublet of gamb, gamba, jamb, and jambe. Compare gammon and ham.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kh₂em-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "grc"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "gamba",
        "4": "",
        "5": "leg"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian gamba (“leg”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gamb",
        "3": "gamba",
        "4": "jamb",
        "5": "jambe"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of gamb, gamba, jamb, and jambe"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "gamba",
      "gamba#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "gamb",
      "gamb#English"
    ],
    [
      "gamba",
      "gamba#English"
    ],
    [
      "jamb",
      "jamb#English"
    ],
    [
      "jambe",
      "jambe#English"
    ],
    [
      "gammon",
      "gammon#Etymology_1"
    ],
    [
      "ham",
      "ham#Etymology_1"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A person's leg, especially an attractive woman's leg."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "slang"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A group of whales, or rarely also of other large sea animals; a pod. · A social gathering of whalers (whaling ships).

verb

To pay a social visit on another ship at sea. · To engage in social intercourse anywhere.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Uncertain but surely formed within English; etymons may include game or gammon.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "game",
      "game#English"
    ],
    [
      "gammon",
      "gammon#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A group of whales, or rarely also of other large sea animals; a pod.",
        "A social gathering of whalers (whaling ships)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "collective",
        "broadly"
      ],
      "recordId": "3153e8beac4bbf96c4311d97d5408dbeb4dc95e27553c19a81403fc1194885f5",
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To pay a social visit on another ship at sea.",
        "To engage in social intercourse anywhere."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "ambitransitive",
        "US",
        "dialectal"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gam →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z2Ft