cramble

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   British dialect: to move unsteadily, stiffly, or with difficulty; to hobble

   After injuring his knee, the old shepherd could only cramble up the stone steps.

2. 2
   verb

   rare: to break apart or fall into pieces

   Without mortar, the dry wall began to cramble into loose stones.

3. 3
   verb

   rare: to twist and wind in an irregular way

   The neglected vine crambled along the fence in an irregular tangle.

4. 4
   noun

   rare, usually plural: a branch broken from a tree and blown to the ground by the wind

   After the gale, volunteers cleared crambles from the woodland path.

A dialectal English word, attested especially in northern England. Merriam-Webster traces the hobbling sense to an obsolete English verb meaning "to crawl" and labels its deeper origin unknown. The precise relationship of the senses involving twisting, breaking apart, and wind-fallen branches is uncertain.

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