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Webster 1913 Edition

Limber

Lim′ber

(lĭm′bẽr)
,
Noun.
[For
limmer
, Icel.
limar
branches, boughs, pl. of
lim
; akin to E.
limb
. See
Limb
a branch.]
1.
pl.
The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage.
[Prov. Eng.]
2.
(Mil.)
The detachable fore part of a gun carriage, consisting of two wheels, an axle, and a shaft to which the horses are attached. On top is an ammunition box upon which the cannoneers sit.
3.
pl.
(Naut.)
Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to afford a passage for water to the pump well.
Limber boards
(Naut.)
,
short pieces of plank forming part of the lining of a ship’s floor immediately above the timbers, so as to prevent the limbers from becoming clogged.
–
Limber box
or
Limber chest
(Mil.)
,
a box on the limber for carrying ammunition.
–
Limber rope
,
Limber chain
or
Limber clearer
(Naut.)
,
a rope or chain passing through the limbers of a ship, by which they may be cleared of dirt that chokes them.
Totten.
–
Limber strake
(Shipbuilding)
,
the first course of inside planking next the keelson.

Lim′ber

Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Limbered
(lĭm′bẽrd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Limbering
.]
(Mil.)
To attach to the limber;
as, to
limber
a gun
.
To limber up
,
to change a gun carriage into a four-wheeled vehicle by attaching the limber.

Lim′ber

,
Adj.
[Akin to
limp
, a. √125. See
Limp
,
Adj.
]
Easily bent; flexible; pliant; yielding.
Milton.
The bargeman that doth row with long and
limber
oar.
Turbervile.

Lim′ber

,
Verb.
T.
To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant.
Richardson.

Webster 1828 Edition

Limber

LIM'BER

,
Adj.
Easily bent; flexible; pliant; yielding. In America, it is applied to material things; as a limber rod; a limber joint.

LIM'BER

,
Noun.
In a ship, a square hole cut through the floor timbers, as a passage for water to the pump-well.

Definition 2024

limber

limber

English

Adjective

limber ‎(comparative limberer, superlative limberest)

  1. Flexible, pliant, bendable.
    He's so limber that he can kiss his knee without bending it.
    • Turberville
      The bargeman that doth row with long and limber oar.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

limber ‎(third-person singular simple present limbers, present participle limbering, simple past and past participle limbered)

  1. To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant.
    • (Can we find and add a quotation of Richardson to this entry?)
Translations

Etymology 2

For the obsolete limmer, from Old Norse limar ‎(“branches”), plural of lim.[1]

Noun

limber ‎(plural limbers)

  1. (obsolete) A two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle used to pull an artillery piece into battle.
  2. (in the plural) The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage.
  3. (military) The detachable fore part of a gun carriage, consisting of two wheels, an axle, and a shaft to which the horses are attached. On top is an ammunition box upon which the cannoneers sit.
    • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber 2003, p. 29:
      we covered the rutted, rattling, dusty pot-holed roads of coastal Victoria, six big Walers in front, the cannon at the rear, and that unsprung cart they called a ‘limber’ in the middle.
  4. (nautical, in the plural) Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to allow water to pass to the pump well.
Translations
Usage notes
  • Sometimes the plural limbers was used to refer to a single such vehicle.

Verb

limber ‎(third-person singular simple present limbers, present participle limbering, simple past and past participle limbered)

  1. (obsolete) To prepare an artillery piece for transportation (i.e., to attach it to its limber.)
Translations
Antonyms

References

  • Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
  • Notes:
  1. ↑ limber in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Etymology

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