maim
/meɪm/ verb, noun
Forms maims maiming maimed
- verb To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body. “He was maimed by a bear.”
- noun (obsolete) A severe, serious wound.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English maymen, mahaymen, from Anglo-Norman maheimer, mahaigner, of Germanic origin; see mayhem.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To deprive of the use of a limb, so as to render a person on fighting less able either to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
- verb To mutilate; to cripple; to injure; to disable; to impair.
- noun The privation of the use of a limb or member of the body, by which one is rendered less able to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
- noun The privation of any necessary part; a crippling; mutilation; injury; deprivation of something essential. See Mayhem.
Etymology [OE. maimen, OF. mahaignier, mehaignier, meshaignier, cf. It. magagnare, LL. mahemiare, mahennare; perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Armor. mac'ha to mutilate, mac'ha to crowd, press; or cf. OHG. mang to lack, perh. akin to E. mangle to lacerate. Cf. Mayhem.]
Etymology [OF. mehaing. See Maim, v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “maim”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details