Where do "gams" come from meaning Lady's Legs?

[Martim Ribeiro]

I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.

Does it have some kind of logical inference?
I don't get any connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.

Do you?

[Peter Young]

Italian "gamba", leg?

Peter.

--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist) (AUE Ir)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk

[Paul Wolff]

On Tue, 31 Jan 2017, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> posted:

>On 31 Jan 2017 Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:
>
>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>
>> Does it have some kind of logical inference?
>> I don't get any connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.
>
>Italian "gamba", leg?
>

It's late eighteenth century slang, probably from gamb, which is from
Old Northern French gambe, which is a variant of jambe.

That's what my dictionary says, anyway.
--
Paul

[RH Draney]

You need to watch more 1930's gangster movies....r

[Whiskers]

Or look at some hams and gammons in their complete state in the
butchers' shops.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[Jerry Friedman]

If I had to bet on which of those aren't found in American butchers'
shops, I'd back gammons.

Is an injured leg a game gam?

--
Jerry Friedman

[Whiskers]

Could be.

[CDB]

On 1/31/2017 9:39 AM, Jerry Friedman wrote:
> Whiskers wrote:

>> RH Draney <dado...@cox.net> wrote:
>>> Martim Ribeiro wrote:

>>>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>>>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.

>>>> Does it have some kind of logical inference? I don't get any
>>>> connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.

>>>> Do you?

>>> You need to watch more 1930's gangster movies....r

>> Or look at some hams and gammons in their complete state in the
>> butchers' shops.

> If I had to bet on which of those aren't found in American butchers'
> shops, I'd back gammons.

> Is an injured leg a game gam?

Or a gammy one.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gammy

[Ross]

That's the theory that it comes from a generalization of "gamb",
a heraldic term for a leg, which is attested maybe a century earlier.
Are there any other examples of heraldic jargon being taken into
ordinary slang?

I think it's as least as likely to be part of the old "Polari"
vocabulary, which is full of Italian.

[Horace LaBadie]

In article <33aea2d2-09ad-4d8e...@googlegroups.com>,

Ross <benl...@ihug.co.nz> wrote:

> On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 1:15:52 AM UTC+13, Paul Wolff wrote:
> > On Tue, 31 Jan 2017, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> posted:
> > >On 31 Jan 2017 Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:
> > >
> > >> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
> > >> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
> > >
> > >> Does it have some kind of logical inference?
> > >> I don't get any connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.
> > >
> > >Italian "gamba", leg?
> > >
> > It's late eighteenth century slang, probably from gamb, which is from
> > Old Northern French gambe, which is a variant of jambe.
> >
> > That's what my dictionary says, anyway.
> > --
> > Paul
>
> That's the theory that it comes from a generalization of "gamb",
> a heraldic term for a leg, which is attested maybe a century earlier.
> Are there any other examples of heraldic jargon being taken into
> ordinary slang?

Not slangy, but popular culturally, Simon Bar Sinister.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

OED:

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Italian. Partly
a borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymon:
Italian gamba ; Latin gamba , gamb n.

Etymology: Probably < (i) Italian gamba (perhaps at first in Polari
slang),

or its etymon (ii) post-classical Latin gamba (see jamb n.),

unless (iii) showing colloquial or humorous use of gamb n.

Compare gammed adj. and earlier gambado n.2


That reminds me of the adjective "gammy" which has this sense (among
others):

colloq. (orig. Eng. regional (north. and north-west.)). Esp. of a
limb or joint: misshapen or crooked; (more generally) not
functioning properly through deformity or injury; disabled.

This can be met in "gammy leg" or arm, foot, knee, neck, etc.

1917 H. H. Richardson Fortunes Richard Mahony I. iii. ix. 301
Some'ow, Polly, I can't picture myself dragging a husband with a
gammy leg always at my heels.

I wonder whether "gammy gam" has ever been used.

"He got his gammy gam while gamboling in Gambia" perhaps.

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 2:08:55 PM UTC-5, Ross wrote:
> On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 1:15:52 AM UTC+13, Paul Wolff wrote:
> > On Tue, 31 Jan 2017, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> posted:
> > >On 31 Jan 2017 Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:

> > >> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
> > >> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
> > >> Does it have some kind of logical inference?
> > >> I don't get any connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.
> > >Italian "gamba", leg?
> > It's late eighteenth century slang, probably from gamb, which is from
> > Old Northern French gambe, which is a variant of jambe.
> > That's what my dictionary says, anyway.
>

> That's the theory that it comes from a generalization of "gamb",
> a heraldic term for a leg, which is attested maybe a century earlier.
> Are there any other examples of heraldic jargon being taken into
> ordinary slang?

"bar sinister"

(which actually makes no sense, since a "bar" is a horizontal line and so doesn't
have a dexter or sinister orientation. It should have been "bend sinister,"
where a bend is a diagonal line from an upper to a lower corner; one going upper
right to lower left, a bend sinister, was supposedly the difference for an
illegitimate son.)

[Horace LaBadie]

In article <0a2a9f0f-6f7b-40e4...@googlegroups.com>,

Supposedly, the barre is French, and the bar is traced to Walter Scott.

[Jerry Friedman]

On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 12:08:55 PM UTC-7, Ross wrote:
> On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 1:15:52 AM UTC+13, Paul Wolff wrote:
> > On Tue, 31 Jan 2017, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> posted:
> > >On 31 Jan 2017 Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:
> > >
> > >> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
> > >> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
> > >
> > >> Does it have some kind of logical inference?
> > >> I don't get any connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.
> > >
> > >Italian "gamba", leg?
> > >
> > It's late eighteenth century slang, probably from gamb, which is from
> > Old Northern French gambe, which is a variant of jambe.
> >
> > That's what my dictionary says, anyway.
> > --
> > Paul
>
> That's the theory that it comes from a generalization of "gamb",
> a heraldic term for a leg, which is attested maybe a century earlier.
> Are there any other examples of heraldic jargon being taken into
> ordinary slang?

...

"Vair" has been taken into an urban legend about Cinderella's slipper.
Oh, that's not what you meant by ordinary slang?

"Blot on the escutcheon" isn't totally unknown, though it isn't slang
either.

--
Jerry Friedman put the smudge on the family escutcheon.

[Jack Campin]

> I had to look up gams today because someone used the
> term. Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.

"Gam" also means "blowjob", at least in Glasgow.

Where does that come from?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

[Peter Moylan]

On 2017-Jan-31 22:47, Martim Ribeiro wrote:

> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.

Not really. It means any sort of legs.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

[Paul Wolff]

On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> posted:

>On 2017-Jan-31 22:47, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
>
>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>
>Not really. It means any sort of legs.
>

SOED:

gam / [sound]gam/ noun¹. slang. L18.
[ORIGIN Prob. var. of gamb.]

A leg. Now esp. a woman's shapely leg.

E. Birney Daphne…Delectable child. Blonde…Lovely gams, adequate income.
--
Paul

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

That is not surprising as, particularly in temperate climes, women's
legs tend to be visible and men's aren't, with exceptions such as
bekilted Scotsmen.

[Janet]

In article <gmo39cpel28eptago...@4ax.com>,
ma...@peterduncanson.net says...

>
> On Wed, 1 Feb 2017 11:01:39 +0000, Paul Wolff
> <boun...@thiswontwork.wolff.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> posted:
> >>On 2017-Jan-31 22:47, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
> >>
> >>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
> >>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
> >>
> >>Not really. It means any sort of legs.
> >>
> >
> >SOED:
> >
> >gam / [sound]gam/ noun¹. slang. L18.
> >[ORIGIN Prob. var. of gamb.]
> >
> >A leg. Now esp. a woman's shapely leg.
> >

> >E. Birney Daphne?Delectable child. Blonde?Lovely gams, adequate income.

>
> That is not surprising as, particularly in temperate climes, women's
> legs tend to be visible and men's aren't, with exceptions such as
> bekilted Scotsmen.

In the not too distant past, many mens legs were visible when they
wore work breeches, or were dressed up in silk stockings and knee
breeches, or some military uniforms.

Literature of the day is full of comments on mens' legs (and very few
on womens', hidden beneath long skirts).

Janet

[Jerry Friedman]

Likewise a famous painting of Louis XIV.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Louis_XIV_of_France.jpg

And Ps: 147:10, "He delighteth not in the strength of the horse; He
taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man."

(Okay, I imagine that's about strength and running speed--whatever
the author's point is.)

--
Jerry Friedman

[Quinn C]

* Peter T. Daniels:

> On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 2:08:55 PM UTC-5, Ross wrote:
>> On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 1:15:52 AM UTC+13, Paul Wolff wrote:
>>> On Tue, 31 Jan 2017, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> posted:
>>> >On 31 Jan 2017 Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:
>
>>> >> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>>> >> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>>> >> Does it have some kind of logical inference?
>>> >> I don't get any connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.
>>> >Italian "gamba", leg?
>>> It's late eighteenth century slang, probably from gamb, which is from
>>> Old Northern French gambe, which is a variant of jambe.
>>> That's what my dictionary says, anyway.
>>
>> That's the theory that it comes from a generalization of "gamb",
>> a heraldic term for a leg, which is attested maybe a century earlier.
>> Are there any other examples of heraldic jargon being taken into
>> ordinary slang?
>
> "bar sinister"
>
> (which actually makes no sense, since a "bar" is a horizontal line and so doesn't
> have a dexter or sinister orientation. It should have been "bend sinister,"

So Nabokov had it right - unsurprisingly.

--
In the old days, the complaints about the passing of the
golden age were much more sophisticated.
-- James Hogg in alt.usage.english

[J. J. Lodder]

Jerry Friedman <jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 6:40:23 AM UTC-7, Janet wrote:
> > In article <gmo39cpel28eptago...@4ax.com>,
> > ma...@peterduncanson.net says...
> > >
> > > On Wed, 1 Feb 2017 11:01:39 +0000, Paul Wolff
> > > <boun...@thiswontwork.wolff.co.uk> wrote:
> > >
> > > >On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> posted:
> > > >>On 2017-Jan-31 22:47, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
> > > >>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
> > > >>
> > > >>Not really. It means any sort of legs.
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > >SOED:
> > > >

> > > >gam / [sound]gam/ noun?. slang. L18.

> > > >[ORIGIN Prob. var. of gamb.]
> > > >
> > > >A leg. Now esp. a woman's shapely leg.
> > > >
> > > >E. Birney Daphne?Delectable child. Blonde?Lovely gams, adequate income.
> > >
> > > That is not surprising as, particularly in temperate climes, women's
> > > legs tend to be visible and men's aren't, with exceptions such as
> > > bekilted Scotsmen.
> >
> > In the not too distant past, many mens legs were visible when they
> > wore work breeches, or were dressed up in silk stockings and knee
> > breeches, or some military uniforms.
> >
> > Literature of the day is full of comments on mens' legs (and very few
> > on womens', hidden beneath long skirts).
>
> Likewise a famous painting of Louis XIV.
>
> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Louis_XIV_of_France.jpg
>
> And Ps: 147:10, "He delighteth not in the strength of the horse; He
> taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man."
>
> (Okay, I imagine that's about strength and running speed--whatever
> the author's point is.)

Note the high heels. (crossthread, kitty heels)
These were common for men in the 17th century,
and also for some in the 20th,
<http://www.indymedia.be/index.html%3Fq=node%252F33779.html>
<http://oddstuffmagazine.com/nicolas-sarkozy-and-carla-bruni-sarkozy-lea
ve-as-francois-hollande.html/2-46>

You might also like this classic one, also including the heels,
<http://c7.alamy.com/comp/BA7Y8R/louis-xiv-591638-191715-king-of-france-
1643-1715-full-length-caricature-BA7Y8R.jpg>

Jan

[GordonD]

On 01/02/2017 01:38, Jack Campin wrote:
>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>
> "Gam" also means "blowjob", at least in Glasgow.
>
> Where does that come from?

Something to do with 'gum', given that the lady in question, being from
Glasgow, probably doesn't have her full complement of teeth...
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland

[Ross]

Good one!
What about if it means "tampon" in Australian? (says Green)

[Lewis]

In message <o6ptgh$k8s$1...@news.mixmin.net> Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:
> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.

No, it just means legs. Anyone's legs. Probably restricted to human
legs, but certainly male or female.

> Does it have some kind of logical inference?

It's an old word, at least a coupe hundred years, if not older. Post
Shakespeare, though.

--
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears

[Tony Cooper]

On Wed, 1 Feb 2017 23:43:02 -0000 (UTC), Lewis
<g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:

>In message <o6ptgh$k8s$1...@news.mixmin.net> Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:
>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>
>No, it just means legs. Anyone's legs. Probably restricted to human
>legs, but certainly male or female.

I 'spose it could, but I've never - ever - heard a reference to a
man's gams. Never heard "He's got great gams".

I don't hang in drag queen bars, though.

>
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Peter Moylan]

The impression I have from my reading is that gams usually turn up as
the object of complaints rather than phrase. "It's painful to walk now,
me gams are getting old."

[Robert Bannister]

On 1/2/17 7:01 pm, Paul Wolff wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Feb 2017, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> posted:
>> On 2017-Jan-31 22:47, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
>>
>>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>>
>> Not really. It means any sort of legs.
>>
>
> SOED:
>
> gam / [sound]gam/ noun¹. slang. L18.
> [ORIGIN Prob. var. of gamb.]
>
> A leg. Now esp. a woman's shapely leg.

I wonder in which country that "esp." applies.

>
> E. Birney Daphne…Delectable child. Blonde…Lovely gams, adequate income.


--

Robert B. born England a long time ago;
Western Australia since 1972

[Quinn C]

* Tony Cooper:

And there it would be inappropriate to say "he" (as long as the
drag is on.)

--
Woman is a pair of ovaries with a human being attached, whereas
man is a human being furnished with a pair of testes.
-- Rudolf Virchow

[Lewis]

In message <ufu49ct3rlrichlkh...@4ax.com> Tony Cooper <tonyco...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Feb 2017 23:43:02 -0000 (UTC), Lewis
> <g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:

>>In message <o6ptgh$k8s$1...@news.mixmin.net> Martim Ribeiro <MartimX...@meo.pt> wrote:
>>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>>
>>No, it just means legs. Anyone's legs. Probably restricted to human
>>legs, but certainly male or female.

> I 'spose it could, but I've never - ever - heard a reference to a
> man's gams. Never heard "He's got great gams".

It is true that hearing any mention of a man's legs is quite rare, and
therefor a slang reference would be even rarer.

> I don't hang in drag queen bars, though.

It may be worth asking the next time you photograph one, though. It's
quite possible the word is becoming exclusive. Certainly it usually
refers to women's legs.

--
“If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's
read by persons who move their lips when they're reading to themselves.”
― Don Marquis

[Mack A. Damia]

On Tue, 31 Jan 2017 05:24:10 -0700, RH Draney <dado...@cox.net>
wrote:

>On 1/31/2017 4:47 AM, Martim Ribeiro wrote:
>> I had to look up gams today because someone used the term.
>> Apparently it means ladies nicely shaped legs.
>>

>> Does it have some kind of logical inference?

>> I don't get any connection to legs when I hear the word 'gams'.
>>

>> Do you?
>
>You need to watch more 1930's gangster movies....r

You dirty rat........