jamb
/d͡ʒæm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.46 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Either of the vertical components that form the side of an opening in a wall, such as that of a door frame, window frame, or fireplace.
Example Sentences
- "Wyntoun, in his Chronicle, mentions an encounter betwixt Lindsay and a Highlander, whom he had pierced with his lance, but who, while on the ground, cut at him with his twohanded sword, and, striking through his steel jambs […]"
- "The light of the moon gleamed on his steel helmet, his globular corslet, and the taces cuisses, or thigh pieces, and steel jambs which protected his legs."
- "The arms are additionally protected by plate armour - arrière bras with epaules or roundels at the shoulders, and similar […] The steel poleyns below this are large and fully formed, and below them are steel jambs, or greaves ..."
- "Each was wearing a surcoat either of brocade or samite. They were still wearing their steel jambs, but their other armour had been removed from them. There can be no more sleeping. The King and Queen rose, a priest sang Mass."
Etymology
From Middle English jambe, jaumbe, from Old French jambe (“leg”), from Late Latin gamba (“hock, shank, leg, thigh”), from Ancient Greek καμπή (kampḗ, “turning post, bend or flexure”). Doublet of gam, gamb, gamba, and jambe.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
strike jamb