1. To inflict a severe and permanent injury on a person or animal; especially, one that renders a limb useless: One young man was killed and two others were mauled and maimed by a lion at the San Francisco zoo in December, 2007.

Originally, in law, it was a crime if people maimed others to make them less able to defend themselves.

2. Etymology: to cripple, to disable, to mutilate; from Middle English, maymen, mahaymen; from Old French, mehagnier, mahaignier, mayner; which is of Teutonic origin.