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limp

 - 9 dictionary results

limp

1  [limp]
Use limp in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to walk with a labored, jerky movement, as when lame.
2. to proceed in a lame, faltering, or labored manner: His writing limps from one cliché to another. The old car limped along.
3. to progress slowly and with great difficulty; make little or no advance: an economy that limps along at a level just above total bankruptcy.
–noun
4. a lame movement or gait: The accident left him with a slight limp.
Origin:
1560–70; back formation from obs. limphault lame; OE lemphealt limping (see halt 2 ); akin to MHG limpfen to limp

Related forms:
limper, noun
limp⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

limp

2  [limp]
–adjective, -er, -est.
1. lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame: a limp body.
2. lacking vitality; weary; tired; fatigued: Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.
3. without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character: limp, spiritless prose.
4. flexible; not stiff or rigid: a Bible in a limp leather binding.
Origin:
1700–10; perh. < Scand; cf. Icel limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby

Related forms:
limply, adverb
limpness, noun

Synonyms:
1. flabby, flaccid, soft. 2, 3. feeble, weak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To limp
limp   (lĭmp)   
intr.v.   limped, limp·ing, limps

  1. To walk lamely, especially with irregularity, as if favoring one leg.

  2. To move or proceed haltingly or unsteadily: The project limped along with half its previous funding.

n.  An irregular, jerky, or awkward gait.
adj.   limp·er, limp·est

  1. Lacking or having lost rigidity, as of structure or substance.

  2. Lacking strength or firmness; weak or spiritless; a limp handshake; limp opposition.


[Probably from obsolete lymphault, lame, from Old English lemphealt : lemp-, hanging loosely + -healt, lame, limping.]
limp'ly adv., limp'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean lacking in stiffness or firmness: a limp shirt collar; flabby, wrinkled flesh; flaccid cheeks; a floppy hat brim.
Antonym: firm1
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

limp  (v.)
c.1400, of uncertain origin, probably from O.E. lemphealt "halting, lame, limping," which has a lone cognate in the rare M.H.G. limphin, and probably ult. is from PIE base *lomb- "slack, loose, to hang down" (cf. Skt. lambate "hangs down," L. limbus "hem, border," M.H.G. lampen "to hang down").

limp  (adj.)
1706, "flaccid, drooping," of obscure origin, perhaps related to limp (v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1limp
Pronunciation: 'limp
Function: intransitive verb
1 : to walk lamely; especially : to walk favoring oneleg
2 : to go unsteadily

Main Entry: 2limp
Function: noun
: a limping movement or gait
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

limp (lĭmp)
n.
An irregular, jerky, or awkward gait; a claudication. v. limped, limp·ing, limps
To walk lamely, especially with irregularity, as if favoring one leg.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

LIMP
["Messages in Typed Languages", J. Hunt et al, SIGPLAN Notices 14(1):27-45 (Jan 1979)].

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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