limp

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To walk unevenly because one leg is hurt or weak.

   He limped off the field with an injured knee.

2. 2
   noun

   An uneven, awkward way of walking.

   She walks with a slight limp.

3. 3
   adj

   Soft and not stiff; floppy.

   The flowers had gone limp in the heat.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

The verb limp appeared in late Middle English, originally meaning "fall short of" before developing the sense "walk unevenly or with difficulty." It is related to the obsolete limphalt, "lame," and is probably Germanic. The adjective meaning "lacking firmness" dates from the early 18th century and may be related, but its origin is uncertain.

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”).

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External links

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