limp definition | Dictionary.com

limp

1 [limp]

–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.
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Link To limp

limp (lĭmp)

intr.v. limped, limp·ing, limps

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

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

Limp\ (l[i^]mp), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Limped (l[i^]mt; 215); p. pr. & vb. n. Limping.] [Cf. AS. lemphealt lame, OHG. limphen to limp, be weak; perh. akin to E. lame, or to limp, a [root]120.] To halt; to walk lamely. Also used figuratively. --Shak.

Limp

Limp\, n. A halt; the act of limping.

Limp

Limp\, n. (Ore Washing) A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve.

Limp

Limp\, a. [Cf. Icel. limpa limpness, weakness, and E. lap, n., lop, v. t. Cf. Limber, a.]

1. Flaccid; flabby, as flesh. --Walton.

2. Lacking stiffness; flimsy; as, a limp cravat.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : limp

Spanish: flojo, fláccido, mustio, débil,

German: schlaff,

Japanese: ぐにゃぐにゃの

More Translations »

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.).

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

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.

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

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