English Explanatory Dictionary

limp

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To walk lamely, as if favoring one leg.
  2. To travel with a malfunctioning system of propulsion.
  3. To move or proceed irregularly.
  4. To call, particularly in an unraised pot pre-flop.
noun
  1. An irregular, jerky or awkward gait.
  2. A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve.
adj
  1. Flaccid; flabby, resembling flesh.
  2. Lacking stiffness; floppy, flimsy.
  3. Soft; weak, in special physically weak.
  4. Not erect.
  5. Not having an erection.
verb
  1. To be inadequate or unsatisfactory.
noun
  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.
verb
  1. To happen; befall; chance.
  2. To come upon; meet.
phrase
  1. Acronym of Louis XIV, James II, Queen Mary of Modena and the Prince of Wales (a code-word among Jacobites)

Pronunciation

/lɪmp/ en-us-limp.ogg

Word forms

limp limps limping limped limper limpest lamp lump

Etymology

From Middle English limpen (“to fall short”), from Old English limpan, from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, 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”), Middle High German limpfen (“to hobble, limp”), dialectal German lampen (“to hang down loosely”), Icelandic limpa (“limpness, weakness”).

Derived words

limpard limper limp in limping iamb limple Alexandra limp Alexandrian limp limpless limplike limpsome limpdick limp-dick limp dick limp-dickedness limpish limply limpness limp of the wrist limp-wrist limpwrist limp-wristed limpy belimp
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