▪ I. ‖ gamba1
(ˈgæmbə)
[L. gamba: see jamb.]
† 1. The leg of a horse. Obs. rare—1.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 284 Two little ribbes from the vpper part of the thigh to the Gamba..There are two vaines out of the Gambaes. Ibid. 285 The legges are called Gambæ of Campo, signifying treading. |
2. Anat. (See quot.)
| 1842 Brande Dict. Sci., etc., Gamba, a technical term in Mammalogy, applied by Illiger to the elongated metacarpus or metatarsus of the Ruminants and Solipeds. |
▪ II. gamba2
(ˈgæmbə)
Also 6–8 gambo.
[Short for viol da gamba.]
1. = viol da gamba. Also gamba viol.
| 1598 Marston Pygmal. Sat. i. 138 I'le not endure that with thine instrument (Thy Gambo violl plac'd betwixt thy thighes)..Thou entertaine the time. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. iv. 358 Some likewise there affect the Gamba with the voice, To shew that England could varietie afford. 1710 in E. D. Dunbar Soc. Life Moray (1865) 15, I can..play on the Treble and Gambo, Viol, Virginelles and Manicords. |
| fig. 1638 Ford Fancies i. ii, Fumble one with another on the gambos of imagination between their legs. |
2. An organ-stop, resembling a violin or violoncello in tone. Also gamba stop.
| 1869 Eng. Mech. 31 Dec. 385/2 A gamba is a reedy toned stop. 1881 C. A. Edwards Organs 157 Viol-di-Gamba. This stop is not to be confounded with the German Gamba..The German Gamba, or Gamba proper, is a stop of louder intonation and somewhat larger scale. 1895 Rec. Bucks. VII. 331 The organ, which fills the western tower, has been enriched with a gamba stop. |
▪ III. gamba, n.3
(ˈgæmbə, ‖ ˈgamba)
[a. Sp. gamba prawn.]
A large, red, Mediterranean prawn, Palaemon serratus, prized as a delicacy for its flesh, and usu. served grilled.
| 1950 G. Brenan Face of Spain xii. 256 In the evenings ringing the changes on beer and anise, with black olives and those large prawns called gambas. 1969 Queen 17 Sept. 50/2 The smell of frying gambas. 1989 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 16 July 39/4 I'll have a paella with a side dish of gambas. And don't forget the Tabasco. |