limp

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English limpen, from Old English limpan (“to happen, occur, exist, belong to, suit, befit, concern”), from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to glide, go, suit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with Scots limp (“to chance to be, come”), Middle Low German gelimpen (“to moderate, treat mildly”), Middle High German limfen (“to suit, become”).

Verb[edit]

limp (third-person singular simple present limps, present participle limping, simple past lamp or limped, past participle lump or limped)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To happen; befall; chance.
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To come upon; meet.
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English *limp, *lemp, from Old English *lemp (recorded only in compound lemphealt (“limping”), from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with German lampecht (“flaccid, limp”), Icelandic lempinn, lempiligur (“pliable, gentle”). See above.

Adjective[edit]

limp (comparative limper, superlative limpest)

  1. flaccid; flabby, like flesh.
  2. lacking stiffness; flimsy
    a limp rope
  3. (of a penis) not erect
  4. (of a man) not having an erect penis
  5. physically weak
    • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France [1]
      Another line-out was stolen, and when the ball was sent left Clerc stepped and spun through limp challenges from Wilkinson, Chris Ashton and Foden to dive over and make it 11-0.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

limp (third-person singular simple present limps, present participle limping, simple past and past participle limped)

  1. (intransitive) To be inadequate or unsatisfactory.

Noun[edit]

limp (plural limps)

  1. A scraper of board or sheet-iron shaped like half the head of a small cask, used for scraping the ore off the sieve in the operation of hand-jigging.

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle English *limpen, from Old English *limpan, *lympan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with Low German lumpen (“to limp”), German dialectal lampen (“to hang down loosely”), Icelandic limpa (“limpness, weakness”).

Verb[edit]

limp (third-person singular simple present limps, present participle limping, simple past and past participle limped)

  1. (intransitive) To walk lamely, as if favouring one leg.
    • 2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport‎[2]:
      Dirk Kuyt sandwiched a goal in between Carroll's double as City endured a night of total misery, with captain Carlos Tevez limping off early on with a hamstring strain that puts a serious question mark over his participation in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley.
  2. (intransitive, figuratively, of a vehicle) To travel with a malfunctioning system of propulsion
    The bomber limped home on one engine.
  3. (poker slang, intransitive) To call.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

limp (plural limps)

  1. An irregular, jerky or awkward gait
    She walks with a limp.
  2. A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve
  3. A code-word among Jacobites, standing for Louis XIV, James II, Queen Mary of Modena and the Prince of Wales.[1]
Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Millennium Edition, art. "Limp"

Anagrams[edit]

Dalmatian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From a derivative of Latin lampas. Compare Italian lampo.

Noun[edit]

limp m

  1. lightning
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