shamble

C2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈʃæmbl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #135908

Meanings

1

verb
To walk slowly and awkwardly, dragging or shuffling your feet.

He shambled into the office an hour late, looking half asleep.
2

noun
A slow, dragging, unsteady way of walking.

The old dog crossed the yard with a tired shamble.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to walk slowly and... shuffle stagger scuffle

2 noun · a slow, dragging, unsteady... shuffleshambling

Word family

Forms shambledshamblingshamblingly

Etymology

From Middle English schambyll, shamyll, schamel, from Old English sċeamol, scamol (“bench, stool”), from Proto-West Germanic *skamul, *skamil, from Proto-Germanic *skamulaz, *skamilaz, from Latin scamellum, a variant of scabellum (“footstool”). Cognate with Dutch schemel (“footstool, bench”), German Schemel (“stool”), Danish skammel (“stool”). Icelandic skemill (“footstool”).

schambyll Middle English sċeamol Old English *skamul Proto-West Germanic *skamulaz Proto-Germanic scamellum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# shamble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈʃæmbl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 135908

## Meanings
1. To walk slowly and awkwardly, dragging or shuffling your feet.
2. A slow, dragging, unsteady way of walking.

## Examples
- He shambled into the office an hour late, looking half asleep.
- The old dog crossed the yard with a tired shamble.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: schambyll
- Root: sċeamol
- Root: *skamul
- Root: *skamulaz
- Root: scamellum

## Etymology
From Middle English schambyll, shamyll, schamel, from Old English sċeamol, scamol (“bench, stool”), from Proto-West Germanic *skamul, *skamil, from Proto-Germanic *skamulaz, *skamilaz, from Latin scamellum, a variant of scabellum (“footstool”). Cognate with Dutch schemel (“footstool, bench”), German Schemel (“stool”), Danish skammel (“stool”). Icelandic skemill (“footstool”).

## AI Etymology
Shamble is from Middle English schambyll, shamyll, schamel, from Old English sċeamol, scamol (“bench, stool”), from Proto-West Germanic *skamul, *skamil, from Proto-Germanic *skamulaz, *skamilaz, from Latin scamellum, a variant of scabellum (“footstool”). Cognate with Dutch schemel (“footstool, bench”), German Schemel (“stool”), Danish skammel (“stool”). Icelandic skemill (“footstool”). In present-day use, it can mean to walk slowly and awkwardly, dragging or shuffling your feet, or a slow, dragging, unsteady way of walking.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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