jamb
/d͡ʒæm/ noun, verb
Forms jambs jambing jambed jambe jaum
- noun (architecture, interior decorating, carpentry) 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.
- noun (mining) Any thick mass of rock that prevents miners from following the lode or vein.
- noun Synonym of jambeau (“piece of armor for the leg”).
- verb (transitive) To fix or attach a jamb to.
Synonyms
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The vertical side of any opening, as a door or fireplace; hence, less properly, any narrow vertical surface of wall, as the of a chimney-breast or of a pier, as distinguished from its face. Gwilt.
- noun Any thick mass of rock which prevents miners from following the lode or vein.
- verb See Jam, v. t.
Etymology [Prov. E. jaumb, jaum, F. jambe a leg, jambe de force a principal rafter. See Gambol.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “jamb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details