Lamb

See also: lamb

English

Etymology 1

1. From Middle English lamb as a nickname.
2. From a short form of Lambert.
3. Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Luain.
4. Possibly also a translation of French agneau.

Proper noun

Lamb (countable and uncountable, plural Lambs)

1. A surname from Middle English.
2. An unincorporated community in Craig Township, Switzerland County, Indiana, United States.
3. An extinct town in Marion County, Missouri, United States.
4. An islet (small island) in the Firth of Forth, East Lothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT5386).

Derived terms

• Lamb County
• Lambian
• Lamb shift

Etymology 2

See Lamb of God. See also lamb.

Proper noun

the Lamb

1. (Christianity) Jesus; the Lamb of God
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 12:10-11:

     And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

   • 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 40:

     (See St. Paul's epistles, and the early Fathers.) And we have the expression "washed in the blood of the Lamb" adopted into the Christian Church.

Synonyms

• (Jesus): Paschal Lamb, Lamb of God, Agnus Dei

Etymology 3

See lamb.

Noun

Lamb (plural Lambs)

1. (slang) Alternative letter-case form of lamb (“a fan of Mariah Carey”).
   • 2020 September 29, Mary Sollosi, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey is a compelling account of suffering and survival: Review”, in Entertainment Weekly‎^[1]:

     Mariah Carey’s memoir opens with the great line: “I refuse to acknowledge time, famously so.” As if to establish the rules of the book, then add, with a toss of hair, but you knew that. Most readers of The Meaning of Mariah Carey, which the record-smashing songstress wrote with Michaela Angela Davis, probably already did know that (and are happy to stick to Mariah’s anti-schedule), but there’s plenty in the 337-page volume that will surprise even the most devoted Lambs.

   • 2020, Rebecca Coleman, “The G-Word: Film, Fantasy and Afro-Fabulative Futures”, in Glitterworlds: The Future Politics of a Ubiquitous Thing, Goldsmiths Press, →ISBN, page 118:

     Similarly, although critics panned Glitter for being ‘an unintentionally hilarious compendium of time-tested cinematic clichés that illustrates the chasm between hopeful imitation and successful duplication,’ as the New York Times (Van Gelder 2001) put it, during the #JusticeForGlitter campaign, Mariah Carey’s fans, the Lambs, posted clips from the film on Twitter and reasserted their love for it.

   • 2021 August 6, Tori Brazier, “Make space in the Lambily as Ryan Reynolds brands himself ‘total Mariah Carey fan’ for Fantasy-filled Free Guy”, in Metro‎^[2]:

     Ryan Reynolds has labelled himself a ‘total Lamb’, as he was revealed to be the brains behind the idea of using Mariah Carey’s Fantasy as the anthem for his upcoming movie Free Guy.

   • 2021 September 16, David Oliver, “‘Stan’ culture can prompt star worship at its worst”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 119, number 68, page 3H:

     Army go full-on militant for BTS, and Lambs live by Mariah Carey. […] Mariah Carey’s superfans refer to themselves as Lambs.

Anagrams

• ALBM, BAML, BLAM, LBMA, balm, blam