lam

< /wɪlˈfreɪ doʊ/, 1902–82, Cuban painter in Europe.

1. laminated.

1. Lamentations.

verb lams, lamming or lammed slang

1. (tr) to thrash or beat
2. (intr; usually foll by into or out) to make a sweeping stroke or blow

noun

1. a sudden flight or escape, esp to avoid arrest
2. on the lam
   1. making an escape
   2. in hiding

verb lams, lamming or lammed

3. (intr) to escape or flee

abbreviation for

1. Lamentations

n.“flight,” as in on the lam, 1897, from a U.S. slang verb meaning “to run off” (1886), of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from the first element of lambaste, which was used in British student slang for “beat” since 1590s; if so, it would give the word the same etymological sense as the slang expression beat it. see on the lam.