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limber

 - 7 dictionary results

lim⋅ber

1  [lim-ber]
Use limber in a Sentence
–adjective
1. characterized by ease in bending the body; supple; lithe.
2. bending readily; flexible; pliant.
–verb (used without object)
3. to make oneself limber (usually fol. by up): to limber up before the game.
–verb (used with object)
4. to make (something) limber (usually fol. by up): She tried to limber up her wits before the exam.
Origin:
1555–65; perh. akin to limb 1

Related forms:
lim⋅ber⋅ly, adverb
lim⋅ber⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. pliable. See flexible.

Antonyms:
1, 2. stiff. 2. rigid, unbending.

lim⋅ber

2  [lim-ber] Military
–noun
1. a two-wheeled vehicle, originally pulled by four or six horses, behind which is towed a field gun or caisson.
–verb (used with object)
2. to attach the limber to (a gun) in preparation for moving away (sometimes fol. by up).
–verb (used without object)
3. to attach a limber to a gun (usually fol. by up).
Origin:
1400–50; late ME lymo(u)r pole of a vehicle. See limb 1 , -er 1

lim⋅ber

3  [lim-ber]
–noun
Usually, limbers. Nautical. a passage or gutter in which seepage collects to be pumped away, located on each side of a central keelson; bilge.
Origin:
1620–30; perh. < F lumière hole, light < LL lūmināria; see luminaria
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To limber
lim·ber 1   (lĭm'bər)   
adj.  

  1. Bending or flexing readily; pliable.

  2. Capable of moving, bending, or contorting easily; supple.

v.   lim·bered, lim·ber·ing, lim·bers

v.   tr.
To make limber: limbered up his legs.
v.   intr.
To make oneself limber: players limbering up before the game.

[Origin unknown.]
lim'ber·ly adv., lim'ber·ness n.
lim·ber 2   (lĭm'bər)   
n.  A two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle used to tow a field gun or a caisson.

[Alteration of Middle English limour, shaft of a cart, perhaps from limon, from Old French.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

limber  (adj.)
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  (n.)
"detachable forepart of a gun carriage," 1480, probably related to Fr. limonière "wagon with two shafts," from limon "shaft," probably of Celtic origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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