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Webster 1913 Edition

Extremity

Ex-trem′i-ty

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Extremities
.
[L.
extremitas
: cf. F.
extrémité
.]
1.
The extreme part; the utmost limit; the farthest or remotest point or part;
as, the
extremities
of a country
.
They sent fleets . . . to the
extremities
of Ethiopia.
Arbuthnot.
2.
(Zoöl.)
One of locomotive appendages of an animal; a limb; a leg or an arm of man.
3.
The utmost point; highest degree; most aggravated or intense form.
“The extremity of bodily pain.”
Ray.
4.
The highest degree of inconvenience, pain, or suffering; greatest need or peril; extreme need; necessity.
Divers evils and
extremities
that follow upon such a compulsion shall here be set in view.
Milton.
Syn. – Verge; border; extreme; end; termination.

Webster 1828 Edition

Extremity

EXTREM'ITY

,
Noun.
[L. extremitas.] The utmost point or side; the verge; the point or border that terminates a thing; as the extremities of a country.
1.
The utmost parts. The extremities of the body, in painting and sculpture, are the head, hands and feet; but in anatomy, the term is applied to the limbs only.
2. The utmost point; the highest or furthest degree; as the extremity of pain or suffering; the extremity of cruelty. Even charity and forbearance may be carried to extremity.
3.
Extreme or utmost distress, straits or difficulties; as a city besieged and reduced to extremity.
4.
The utmost rigor or violence. The Greeks have endured oppression in its utmost extremity.
5.
The most aggravated state.
The world is running after farce,the extremity of bad poetry.

Definition 2024

extremity

extremity

English

Noun

extremity ‎(plural extremities)

  1. The most extreme or furthest point of something.
  2. An extreme measure.
  3. A hand or foot.
    Guillain–Barré syndrome causes one to not be able to move one's extremities.
  4. A limb (major appendage of human or animal such as a leg an arm or a wing)

Synonyms

  • (furthest point of something): tip
  • (major appendage of human or animal): limb

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • extremity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • extremity in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Etymology

From Middle English extremite, from Old French extremite, from Latin extremitas ‎(“the extremity or end”), from extremis ‎(“furthest, extreme”); see extreme.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: ĭkstrĕ'mĭtē, IPA(key): /ɪkˈstrɛmɪti/

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