limbless
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.
verb (used with object)
7.
to cut the limbs from (a felled tree).
00:10
Limbless
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
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
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To limbless
Collins
World English Dictionary
limb1 (lɪm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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 | |
| 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
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
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
limb (lĭm)
n.
One of the paired jointed extremities of the body; an arm or a leg.
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
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
limb  (lĭm) Pronunciation Key
|
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
