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limb

 [lim]   Example Sentences Origin

limb

1   [lim]
noun
1.
a part or member of an animal body distinct from the head and trunk, as a leg, arm, or wing: the lower limbs; artificial limbs.
2.
a large or main branch of a tree.
3.
a projecting part or member: the four limbs of a cross.
4.
a person or thing regarded as a part, member, branch, offshoot, or scion of something: a limb of the central committee.
5.
Archery. the upper or lower part of a bow.
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6.
Informal. a mischievous child, imp, or young scamp.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
7.
to cut the limbs from (a felled tree).

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Limb is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
chat, to converse
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
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Idiom
8.
out on a limb, in a dangerous or compromising situation; vulnerable: The company overextended itself financially and was soon out on a limb.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English lim; akin to Old Norse lim foliage, limr limb, līmi rod, Latin līmus aslant, līmen threshold

Related forms
limb·less, adjective

Synonyms
1. extremity. 2. See branch.

Example Sentences
  • He's still growing-the limb bones still have growth plates that are open.
  • Wildlife photographers will risk life and limb to get the perfect close-up, but a few ingenious hacks can make the process easier.
  • Estimates suggest that several thousand people worldwide wish to get rid of a normal healthy limb.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

limb

2   [lim]
noun
1.
Astronomy. the edge of the disk of the sun, a moon, or a planet.
2.
the graduated edge of a quadrant or similar instrument.
3.
Botany.
a.
the upper spreading part of a gamopetalous corolla.
b.
the expanded portion of a petal, sepal, or leaf.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin limbus; see limbus2, limbo1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To LIMB
Collins
World English Dictionary
limb1 (lɪm)
 
—n
1.  an arm or leg, or the analogous part on an animal, such as a wing
2.  any of the main branches of a tree
3.  a branching or projecting section or member; extension
4.  a person or thing considered to be a member, part, or agent of a larger group or thing
5.  chiefly (Brit) a mischievous child (esp in limb of Satanorlimb of the devil)
6.  out on a limb
 a.  in a precarious or questionable position
 b.  (Brit) isolated, esp because of unpopular opinions
 
—vb
7.  (tr) a rare word for dismember
 
[Old English lim; related to Old Norse limr]
 
limbed1
 
—adj
 
'limbless1
 
—adj

limb2 (lɪm)
 
—n
1.  the edge of the apparent disc of the sun, a moon, or a planet
2.  a graduated arc attached to instruments, such as the sextant, used for measuring angles
3.  botany
 a.  the expanded upper part of a bell-shaped corolla
 b.  the expanded part of a leaf, petal, or sepal
4.  either of the two halves of a bow
5.  Also called: fold limb either of the sides of a geological fold
 
[C15: from Latin limbus edge]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

limb
O.E. lim "limb, joint, main branch of a tree," from P.Gmc. *limu- (cf. O.N. limr "limb," lim "small branch of a tree"), a variant of *liþu- (cf. O.E. liþ, O.Fris. lith, O.N. liðr, Goth. liþus "a limb;" with prefix ga-, source of Ger. glied "limb, member"), from PIE base *lei- "to
EXPAND
bend, be movable, be nimble." The parasitic -b began to appear late 1500s for no reason. In O.E., M.E., and until lately in dial., it could mean "any visible body part."
"The lymmes of generacion were shewed manyfestly." [Caxton, "The subtyl historyes and fables of Esope, Auyan, Alfonce, and Poge," 1484]
Hence, limb-lifter "fornicator" (1570s). To go out on a limb in figurative sense is from 1897. Life and limb in ref. to the body inclusively is from c.1200.

limb
1590s, "edge of a quadrant or other instrument," from L. limbus "border, hem, fringe, edge," cognate with Skt. lambate "hangs down," English limp. Astronomical sense of "edge of the disk of a heavenly body" first attested 1670s.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

limb (lĭm)
n.

  1. One of the paired jointed extremities of the body; an arm or a leg.

  2. A segment of such a jointed structure.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
limb   (lĭm)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. One of the appendages of an animal, such as an arm of a starfish, the flipper of dolphins, or the arm and leg of a human, used for locomotion or grasping.

  2. The expanded tip of a plant organ, such as a petal or corolla lobe.

  3. The circumferential edge of the apparent disk of a celestial body.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

limb

see out on a limb; risk life and limb.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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