lamb
English
![](Images/wiktionary/Mudchute_farm_sheep_with_lambs.jpg.webp)
![](Images/wiktionary/Jielbeaumadier_agneau_romane_1_bn_rambouillet_2011.jpeg.webp)
Etymology
From Middle English lamb, from Old English lamb, from Proto-West Germanic *lamb, from Proto-Germanic *lambaz, reputed to be from Proto-Indo-European *h₁l̥h₁onbʰos, enlargement of *h₁elh₁én, ultimately from *h₁el-.
See also Dutch lam, German Lamm, Swedish lamm, Finnish lammas, Scottish Gaelic lon (“elk”), Ancient Greek ἔλαφος (élaphos, “red deer”). More at elk.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /læm/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -æm
Noun
lamb (plural lambs or (both dialectal) lamber or lambren)
- A young sheep.
- Synonym: sheepling
- The flesh of a lamb or sheep used as food.
- (figuratively) A person who is meek, docile and easily led.
- A simple, unsophisticated person.
- (finance, slang) One who ignorantly speculates on the stock exchange and is victimized.
- (slang) A fan of American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer Mariah Carey (born 1969).
- Alternative form: Lamb
- Holonym: Lambily
- 2003, Bust, page 88:
- Part of me revels in the campiness of Mariah’s butterfly metaphors and puppies-and-kittens existence. I mean, she’s the Judy Garland for a new generation of gay men. But I also genuinely love her music, including this album. I’m one of her lambs.
- 2003, Sister 2 Sister, page 82:
- In addition to the re-release of the album, Mariah will kick off a tour that includes picks from fans—or “lambs” as she calls them—[…].
- 2003 June, “20 Sleazy Rock Moments”, in Spin, volume 19, number 6, section 5 (“Hello, Lambs!”), page 69:
- Officially, she was “exhausted,” but before checking into a New York hospital in July 2001, Mariah Carey went on a remarkable binge of public meltdowns. First, she bum-rushed MTV’s TRL, pushing an ice-cream cart and freaking out host Carson Daly by reading a love letter to him from her mother (did we mention she was stripping at the time?). Later, Carey reportedly smashed glasses and dishes in a New York City hotel suite, then left nutty fan-site messages to her “lambs,” stating a need for “like, a minute off.”
- 2010 February 15, Greg Kot, “Mimi cuts loose: Mariah Carey concert at Chicago Theatre shows that the diva can laugh at herself”, in Chicago Tribune, 163rd year, number 46, section 3, page 6:
- Her latest album, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” is her best work yet, a warmer and more subtle album that makes her more relatable to those of us who aren’t Mariah die-hards—or “lambs,” as she refers to them.
- 2019 January 3, Rich Juzwiak, “In Praise of Their Diva”, in The New York Times, section D, page 1:
- This year, Ms. Carey debuted a new Las Vegas revue, and, to celebrate, a group of 36 “lambs,” mostly in their 30s and 40s, boarded a party bus and cruised the Vegas strip for about three hours. […] [picture with “#Lamb4Life”] Ms. Carey among the lambs on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015. […] But in conversations with more than a dozen self-identified lambs, it was her songwriting that was most consistently cited as her defining feature. […] The lambs’ investment in the arc of Ms. Carey’s life and art echoes that of the fandoms surrounding her ’90s contemporaries who are regarded as “confessional” women singer-songwriters, like Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco.
- 2020 February 25, Chris Azzopardi, “I Love You (But Do You Love Mariah Carey?)”, in The New York Times:
- “I’ll fall for you if … your favorite Mariah Carey song is a deep cut,” I had written, attempting to connect with other “lambs,” the nickname for those who are considered her biggest fans. […] Mariah Carey signs autographs for her “lambs,” the nickname for those who are considered her biggest fans. […] But when I saw Mariah in Detroit last year during the Caution World Tour, I was a proud lamb in my tour T-shirt, my very adult body suddenly transformed into my 14-year-old self when she emerged onstage.
- 2020 October 2, David Oliver, “Carey is deeply vulnerable in memoir”, in Telegraph-Forum, volume 98, number 208, Bucyrus, Ohio, page 6B:
- But Carey fans – also known as her “lambs” – really know her, and leap to her defense any chance they get. […] But Carey’s fans (her “lambs”) drive everything she does.
- 2020 December 1, “New this week: Selena series, 'Shameless' and Shawn Mendes”, in Tipton County Tribune, volume 130, number 246, Tipton, Ind., page 4:
- During a normal, non-pandemic year, Carey and her Christmas craziness would be on a holiday tour, bringing joy to fans and lambs in-person.
- 2022, “Mariah Carey releases her exclusive Pride merchandise”, in WRMF:
- Pride Month begins June 1, and Mariah Carey is giving her lambs plenty of new clothes to celebrate.
- 2020 December 28, Rocco Papa, “10 Memorable Mariah Carey Moments That Saved 2020 For Her Lambs”, in Odyssey:
- Ever since Carey revealed on Twitter that she filmed a video for the "Daydream" track, "Underneath The Stars," years ago, lambs have been anxious to see it.
- 2022 February 15, Brenda Alexander, “Nick Cannon Wants Mariah Carey Back Despite the Impending Arrival of His Eighth Child”, in Showbiz CheatSheet:
- In the song, Cannon expresses regret over a lost relationship, which leads Carey’s lambs to believe he’s speaking of her.
- 2022 March 19, Ryan Schocket, “Mariah Carey Accidentally Texted Shawn Mendes Instead Of Her Nephew "Shawn M." And It's Hilarious”, in BuzzFeed:
- Well, Mariah is super close with her nephew, whose name is Shawn M. All lambs like myself know that he's always been a huge part of her life. […] Now, true lambs know that Mariah doesn't acknowledge time, so there's no such thing as an "old" Mariah Carey song.
- 2022 April 19, Glenn Rowley, “Mariah Carey Celebrates ‘Big Big Energy Moment’ With a Splashy Video: Watch”, in Billboard:
- In the clip, the Elusive Chanteuse emerges in slow motion from a pool, wearing a sparkling indigo one-piece as she shows off her famous whistle register in the song’s opening moments. From there, she’s all smiles as she struts poolside and makes a splash in her perfectly on-brand heels covered with butterflies of the same color, captioning the post, “Big Big Energy moment! And thank you lambs for the Sweet Sweet Fantasy revival! #BigEnergyRemix.”
Derived terms
- baa-lamb
- bar-lamb
- ewe lamb
- house lamb
- in like a lion, out like a lamb
- innocent as a lamb
- in two shakes of a lamb's tail
- lamb-ale
- lambchop
- lamber
- Lambeth
- lamb fries
- lambie
- lambiness
- lambing
- lambing season
- lambish
- lambkill
- lambkin
- lambless
- lamblike
- lambling
- lamb pie
- lamb's bread
- lamb's ears
- lamb's fries
- lambskin
- lamb's lettuce
- lamb's quarters
- lamb's tongue
- lambswool
- lamb to the slaughter/like a lamb to the slaughter/come like a lamb to the slaughter/as a lamb to the slaughter
- lamburger
- lamby
- March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb
- mutton dressed as lamb
- one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb
- Paschal Lamb, paschal lamb
- sacrificial lamb
- skin the lamb
- tod and lambs
- vegetable lamb
Translations
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Verb
lamb (third-person singular simple present lambs, present participle lambing, simple past and past participle lambed)
- (intransitive) Of a sheep, to give birth.
- (transitive or intransitive) To assist (sheep) to give birth.
- The shepherd was up all night, lambing her young ewes.
Translations
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Anagrams
- ALBM, BAML, BLAM, LBMA, balm, blam
Faroese
Etymology
From Old Norse lamb, from Proto-Germanic *lambaz.
Noun
lamb n (genitive singular lambs, plural lomb)
- lamb (both the animal and meat)
- kid (baby goat)
- (playing cards, stýrivolt) seven of the chosen cards (trump seven)
Declension
n8 | Singular | Plural | ||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | lamb | lambið | lomb | lombini |
Accusative | lamb | lambið | lomb | lombini |
Dative | lambi | lambinum | lombum | lombunum |
Genitive | lambs | lambsins | lamba | lambanna |
Derived terms
- gimburlamb (female lamb)
- veðurlamb (male lamb)
Gothic
Romanization
lamb
- Romanization of 𐌻𐌰𐌼𐌱
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse lamb, from Proto-Germanic *lambaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lamp/
- Rhymes: -amp
Noun
lamb n (genitive singular lambs, nominative plural lömb)
- a lamb
Declension
n-s | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | lamb | lambið | lömb | lömbin |
accusative | lamb | lambið | lömb | lömbin |
dative | lambi | lambinu | lömbum | lömbunum |
genitive | lambs | lambsins | lamba | lambanna |
Derived terms
- launa lambið gráa
- ljúfur sem lamb
- vatna lömbum (compare the Old Norse krjúpa at keldu)
Middle English
Alternative forms
- lomb, lombe, loumbe, lambe, lom, lame, lamme
Etymology
From Old English lamb, from Proto-West Germanic *lamb, from Proto-Germanic *lambaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lam(b)/, /laːm(b)/, /lɔm(b)/, /lɔːm(b)/
Noun
lamb (plural lambren or lamber or lambes)
- A lamb, its meat, or its skin.
- A Christian believer.
Descendants
- English: lamb
- Scots: lam, lamb
- Yola: lhawm, lowem
References
- “lō̆mb, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Old Norse lamb.
Noun
lamb n (definite singular lambet, definite singular dative lambe, indefinite plural lamb or lomb, definite plural lambi or lombi, definite plural dative lambom or lombom)
- a lamb (young sheep); (pre-1938) alternative form of lam
- (by extension, Christianity, figurative) Christ as sacrificial lamb
Inflection
Historical inflection of lamb
Forms in italics are currently considered non-standard. Forms in [brackets] were official, but considered second-tier. Forms in (parentheses) were allowed under Midlandsnormalen. 1Nouns were capitalised for most of the 19th century. |
Derived terms
- lambekjøt
- påskelamb (“Passover lamb, Paschal Lamb”)
Old English
Alternative forms
- lemb, lomb, lomber
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *lambaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lɑmb/
Noun
lamb n (nominative plural lambru)
- lamb
Declension
West Saxon:
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | lamb | lambru |
accusative | lamb | lambru |
genitive | lambes | lambra |
dative | lambe | lambrum |
Anglian:
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | lomb | lombur, lomberu |
accusative | lomb | lombur, lomberu |
genitive | lombur | lombra |
dative | lombur | lombrum |
Descendants
- Middle English: lamb, lomb, lambe
- English: lamb
- Scots: lam, lamb
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *lamb, see also Old Saxon lamb, Old English lamb, Old Norse lamb, Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌼𐌱 (lamb).
Noun
lamb n
- lamb
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | lamb | lembir |
accusative | lamb | lembir |
genitive | lambes | lembiro |
dative | lambe | lembirum, lembirom |
instrumental | lambu, lambo | lembirum, lembirom |
Descendants
- Middle High German: lamp, lam
- Cimbrian: lamp
- German: Lamm
- Luxembourgish: Lamm
- Vilamovian: łamm
- Yiddish: לאַם (lam)
References
- Köbler, Gerhard, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, (6. Auflage) 2014
- Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer, Second Edition
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *lambaz.
Noun
lamb n (genitive lambs, plural lǫmb)
- a lamb
Declension
neuter | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | lamb | lambit | lǫmb | lǫmbin |
accusative | lamb | lambit | lǫmb | lǫmbin |
dative | lambi | lambinu | lǫmbum | lǫmbunum |
genitive | lambs | lambsins | lamba | lambanna |
Descendants
- Icelandic: lamb
- Faroese: lamb
- Norn: lamb
- Norwegian Nynorsk: lamb, lam; (dialectal) låm
- Norwegian Bokmål: lam
- Old Swedish: lamb
- Swedish: lamm, lamb
- Old Danish: lamb
- Danish: lam
- Westrobothnian: lamb, lemb
- Gutnish: lamb
- Scanian: lǫm
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *lamb.
Noun
lamb n
- lamb
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | lamb | lambiru |
accusative | lamb | lambiru |
genitive | lambes | lambirō |
dative | lambe | lambirum |
instrumental | — | — |
Descendants
- Low German: Lamm