limber

limber¹ (ˈlɪmbə)

—*adj*
1.	capable of being easily bent or flexed; pliant
2.	able to move or bend freely; agile

[C16: origin uncertain]

'limberly¹

—*adv*

'limberness¹

—n

limber² (ˈlɪmbə)

—n
1.	part of a gun carriage, often containing ammunition, consisting of an axle, pole, and two wheels, that is attached to the rear of an item of equipment, esp field artillery

—vb
2.	(usually foll by up) to attach the limber (to a gun, etc)

[C15 lymour shaft of a gun carriage, origin uncertain]

limber³ (ˈlɪmbə)

—n
	(often plural) nautical (in the bilge of a vessel) a fore-and-aft channel through a series of holes in the frames (limber holes) where water collects and can be pumped out

[C17: probably changed from French lumière hole (literally: light)]

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

limber

1565, of uncertain origin, possibly from limb on notion of supple boughs of a tree, or from limp "flaccid," or somehow from M.E. lymer "shaft of a cart" (see limber (n.)).

limber

"detachable forepart of a gun carriage," 1480, probably related to Fr. limonière "wagon with two shafts," from limon "shaft," probably of Celtic origin.

Example sentences

Limber pine, with flexible twigs and needles in groups of five, may also be a part of subalpine forests.

Stand it up to create a hip new office chair that keeps you limber all day long.

Cinder cones support three different plant communities: cinder garden, shrub, and limber pine and/or juniper trees.

His muscles are limber, the rhythm steady, and then his shovel hits something not dirt.

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Matching Quote

"We want some coat woven of elastic steel, stout as the first, and limber as the second. We want a ship in these billows we inhabit. An angular, dogmatic house would be rent to chips and splinters, in this storm of many elements. No, it must be tight, and fit to the form of man, to live at all; as a shell is the architecture of a house founded on the sea."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson