What does "hamstring" mean?
Hamstring: One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.
Additional senses
- 2.To lame or disable by cutting the tendons of the ham or knee; to hough; hence, to cripple; to incapacitate; to disable. So have they hamstrung the valor of the subject by seeking to effeminate us all at home. Milton.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00