English

Verb

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

• belimp

Etymology 2

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

limp ‎(comparative limper, superlative limpest)

1. flaccid; flabby, like flesh.
2. lacking stiffness; flimsy

   a limp rope

3. (of a ****) not erect
4. (of a man) not having an erect ****
5. physically weak
   • 2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France

     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

• limp-dick
• limp of the wrist
• limp-wrist
• limp-wristed

Translations

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To be inadequate or unsatisfactory.

Noun

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

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

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:

     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

• limpard
• limper

Translations

Noun

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

Anagrams

• IPML, pilm, plim

References

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

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

• linp

Etymology

From a derivative of Latin lampas. Compare Italian lampo.

Noun

limp m

1. lightning