† limpn.1
Obsolete. rare.
An occurrence.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > occurrence or event
weird971
redeOE
thingOE
limpc1200
casea1250
tidingc1275
timinga1325
being?c1400
incident?1462
advenement1490
occurrent1523
accidenta1525
occurrence1539
affair1550
event1554
happening1561
événement1567
success1588
betide1590
circumstance1592
arrivage1603
eveniency1660
occurrency1671
betider1674
befalling1839
whet1849
intermezzo1851
transpiration1908
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 197 On alle þose limpes ne untrowede neure Iob to-genes ure drihten.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
limpn.2
/lɪmp/, U.S. /lɪmp/ The action of limping; a limping gait or walk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > [noun] > manner of walking > limping
haltingc1440
hipping1440
limphalting1549
claudication1555
limping1555
halt1599
limpingness1753
limp1818
hippity-hop1845
gimp1925
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [noun] > a limp
limp1818
hilch1824
Alexandra limp1869
gimp1925
jake leg1930
jake walk1930
1818 H. J. Todd Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) He has a limp in his walking.
1870 C. Dickens Edwin Drood iii. 12 The sun-browned tramps..quicken their limp a little.
1876 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 Jan. 35/1 The Grecian bend and the Alexandra limp—both positive and practical imitations of physical affliction.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
limpn.3
/lɪmp/, U.S. /lɪmp/ Mining.
An instrument used for throwing off the refuse from the ore in the operation of jigging (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. M Limp, a very small and thin Piece of Board, shaped almost half round, and it is Shod on the circular Edge with Iron.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 323 The uppermost light stony waste may be easily separated and skimmed off by a piece of semicircular board, called a Limp.
1874 in J. H. Collins Princ. Metal Mining (1875) Gloss. 139/2 Limp, an instrument of iron used for striking the refuse from the sieve in washing ores.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 152 Limp, an instrument for striking the refuse from the sieve in washing ores.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
limpadj.
/lɪmp/, U.S. /lɪmp/ 1.
a. Wanting in firmness or stiffness, flaccid; flexible, pliant. Of a textile fabric: Unstiffened.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > pliableness > [adjective]
tougha700
lithyc1000
softc1330
weak?a1366
plianta1382
persha1398
plyinga1398
lithec1400
supplec1400
plicable?a1425
curvable?1440
lethec1440
scretec1440
pliablec1475
bowable1483
bowing1483
waldinc1485
supple1513
flexible1548
limber1565
lither1565
bending1567
osier1577
wiry1588
buxom1590
withy1598
suppliable1599
renderingc1600
fluxible1607
winding1609
bendable1611
flippant1622
flexive1629
flexile1633
maniable1633
compliant1667
flectible1705
limp1706
yieldy1757
complying1774
limberly1782
willowy1791
switchy1810
wandy1825
twistable1853
bendsome1861
whippy1867
swack1868
bendy1873
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [adjective] > flabby or flaccid
bloatc1300
quavya1398
lennow1528
fobbya1535
flaggya1565
limber1592
quaggy1611
flaccid1620
frothy1626
boggy1664
flabby1697
limp1706
loppy1855
limpsy1865
huffy1890
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > treated or processed in specific way > [adjective] > other
waulked1490
ungrainedc1503
undressed1535
gummed1598
green1727
greige1835
limp1866
print1883
unweighted1883
sueded1888
satinized1891
crushed1895
beaver-finished1909
Schreinered1929
pre-boarded1940
permanent press1944
perma-pressed1951
perma-press1956
warp-printed1957
stabilized1960
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Limp, limber, supple.
1750 M. Browne Walton's Angler iii. 42 The Chub..eats waterish, and..the Flesh of him is not firm, but limp [earlier edd. short] and tasteless.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Limp, limpsy, flaccid.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xvi. 176 His [Punch's] body was dangling in a most uncomfortable position, all loose and limp and shapeless.
1866 Cornhill Mag. Mar. 348 A female with a heap of limp veil thrown up over an obsolete bonnet.
1884 Bazaar, Exchange & Mart 19 Dec. 658/1 Scarf arrangements..are made in almost any limp material.
1897 Bookman Jan. 116/1 Strangling in our starch we can rally him [Byron] familiarly on his limp collars.
b. Bookbinding. Used to designate a kind of binding in which no mill-board is used.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > type of binding > [adjective]
full-bound1705
super-extra1774
half-bound1775
Etruscan1792
antique1794
Russia-bound1808
vellum-bound1836
vellum-covered1836
quarter-bound1842
cloth-bound1860
limp1863
cottage1874
monastic1880
parchment-bound1881
yapped1882
all along1888
Grolieresque1889
Maioli1890
perfect1890
treed calf1892
Lyonnais1893
hardback1894
dos-à-dos1952
perfect bound1960
spiral-bound1961
spiral1977
1863 Parker's Catal. Bks. printed for Univ. Oxf. 2 Sophoclis Tragœdiæ.. each Play separately, limp cloth. 2s. 6d.
1882 Clar. Press List New Bks. 40 The Oxford Bible for Teachers..Turkey Morocco, limp, 22s. 6d.
c. limp wrist n. see quot. 1960; also transferred and (usually with hyphen) as attributive.phr.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun] > effeminate man
badlingeOE
milksopc1390
cockneyc1405
malkina1425
molla1425
weakling1526
tenderling1541
softling1543
niceling1549
woman-man1567
cocknel1570
effeminate1583
androgyne1587
meacock1590
mammaday1593
hermaphrodite1594
midwife1596
nimfadoro1600
night-sneaker1611
mock-mana1625
nan1670
she-man1675
petit maître1711
old woman1717
master-miss1754
Miss Molly1754
molly1785
squaw1805
mollycoddle1823
Miss Nancy1824
mollycot1826
molly mop1829
poof1833
Margery?c1855
ladyboy1857
girl1862
Mary Ann1868
sissy1879
milk1881
pretty-boy1881
nancy1888
poofter1889
Nancy Dawson1890
softie1895
puff1902
pussy1904
Lizzie1905
nance1910
quean1910
maricon1921
pie-face1922
bitch1923
Jessie1923
lily1923
tapette1923
pansy1926
nancy boy1927
nelly1931
femme1932
ponce1932
queerie1933
palone1934
queenie1935
girlie-man1940
swish1941
puss1942
wonk1945
mother1947
candy-ass1953
twink1953
cream puff1958
pronk1959
swishy1959
limp wrist1960
pansy-ass1963
weeny1963
poofteroo1966
mo1968
shim1973
twinkie1977
woofter1977
cake boy1992
hermaphrodite-
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > male
badlingeOE
nan1670
molly1708
Miss Molly1754
Miss Nancy1824
molly mop1829
poof1833
Margery?c1855
Mary Ann1868
pretty-boy1881
cocksucker1885
poofter1889
queer1894
fruit1895
fairy1896
homosexualist1898
puff1902
pussy1904
nance1910
quean1910
girl1912
faggot1913
mouser1914
queen1919
fag1921
gay boy1921
maricon1921
pie-face1922
bitch1923
Jessie1923
tapette1923
pansy1926
nancy boy1927
nelly1931
femme1932
ponce1932
punk1933
queerie1933
gobbler1934
jocker1935
queenie1935
iron1936
freak1941
swish1941
flit1942
tonk1943
wonk1945
mother1947
fruitcake1952
Mary1953
twink1953
swishy1959
limp wrist1960
arse bandit1961
leather man1961
booty bandit1962
ginger beer1964
bummer1965
poofteroo1966
shirtlifter1966
battyman1967
dick-sucker1968
mo1968
a friend of Dorothy1972
shim1973
gaylord1976
twinkie1977
woofter1977
bender1986
knob jockey1989
batty boy1992
cake boy1992
1960 H. Wentworth & S. B. Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 319/2 Limp wrist adj., homosexual; said of male homosexuals; effeminate... A homosexual or effeminate man.
1963 Amer. Speech 38 171 An effeminate young man, a sissy..limp wrist.
1969 Guardian 18 Mar. 1/3 Washington..has concluded that if Britain continues to follow a ‘limp wrist’ policy after the open affront of the shooting affair, the gambling interests would draw obvious conclusions.
1970 C. Major Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 77 Limp wrist, having latent homosexual tendencies.
2. transferred and figurative. Wanting in firmness, strictness, nervous energy, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > lacking vigour, strength, or spirit
bloodlessc1225
feeble1340
languoring?c1425
languid1646
chlorotic1764
exanimate1841
limp1853
anaemic1898
brain-dead1972
1853 G. J. Cayley Las Alforjas I. 196 We told them that our nation had no taste or genius for dancing,..preferring to imitate in a limp and spiritless manner, the dances of foreign countries.
1872 W. Bagehot Physics & Polit. (1876) 76 Creeds or systems that conduce to a soft limp mind tend to perish.
1880 ‘V. Lee’ Stud. 18th Cent. Italy ii. ii. 24 His contemporaries composed in loose, limp rhymes.
1885 A. Dobson At Sign of Lyre 141 Whether..the limp Matron on the Hill Woke from her novel-reading trance.
Draft additions June 2016
limp-wristed adj. colloquial (derogatory) (a) (of a man, esp. a homosexual man) effeminate; (b) (of a thing, action, etc.) weak, ineffectual.
ΚΠ
1955 Der Kreis Jan. 40 It's because of these obvious, limp-wristed types who congregate at bars to scream at one another that the rest of us are finding social acceptance so difficult.
1982 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 28 Oct. Toronto, however, chose to eschew such limp-wristed strategy. Instead, the Jays passed the afternoon manfully attacking that slider and trying to tomahawk the fastball.
1995 P. Conroy Beach Music (1996) xxxv. 658 I loathe this new, limp-wristed, feel-good, touchy-feely Church.
2009 Independent 22 June 20/1 He has built an unlikely political career on the bold premise that opponents of tax-cutting Republicanism are a bunch of limp-wristed ‘girlie men’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† limpv.1
Obsolete.
1. intransitive. To befall, happen. Const. dative. Chiefly impersonal or quasi-impersonal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (intransitive)] > happen to
tocomeeOE
limpc888
i-timeOE
alimpOE
comeOE
on-becomeOE
tidec1000
befallc1175
betidec1175
betimea1225
fallc1225
time?c1225
yfallc1275
timea1325
happena1393
to run upon ——a1393
behapa1450
bechance1530
succeeda1533
attaina1535
behappen1596
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Sedgefield) xxxix. §2 Þa yflan habbað gesælða, & him limpð oft æfter hiora agnum willan.
OE Beowulf 1987 Hu lomp eow on lade, leofa Biowulf.
a1400–50 Alexander 3095 It lympys nott allway þe last be lykkynd to þe first.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 907 Hit watȝ Wawen hym-self þat in þat won sytteȝ, Comen to þat krystmasse, as case hym þen lymped.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 424 Nyf oure lorde hade ben her lodez~mon hem had lumpen harde.
c1420 Anturs of Arth. 615 Bot him lympede þe werse, and þat me wele lykis.
2. To belong, pertain, relate to.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > owning > belong [verb (intransitive)]
limp858
longlOE
belielOE
fallc1175
rine?c1225
belongc1330
pertaina1382
bec1384
appertain1416
cohere1634
858 Charter in Old Eng. Texts 438 Butan ðem wioda ðe to ðem sealtern limpð.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 41 We eow wulleð suteliche seggen of þa fredome þe limpeð to þan deie.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 40 Þe hwite cros limpeð to ow.
3. transitive. To incur, meet with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (transitive)] > encounter or experience
ymetec893
findeOE
meetOE
counterc1325
overtakec1390
limp?a1400
tidea1400
runa1450
to fall with ——?c1475
onlightc1475
recounterc1485
recount1490
to come in witha1500
occur1531
to fall on ——1533
to fall upon ——1533
beshine1574
rencontre1582
entertain1591
cope with1594
happen1594
tocome1596
incur1599
forgather1600
thwart1601
to fall in1675
cross1684
to come across ——1738
to cross upon (or on)1748
to fall across ——1760
experience1786
to drop in1802
encounter1814
to come upon ——1820
to run against ——1821
to come in contact with1862
to run across ——1864
to knock or run up against1886
to knock up against1887
?a1400 Morte Arth. 875 I hadde lefte my lyfe are cho hade harme lymppyde.
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 174 And who-so lympes þe losse, lay hym þer-oute.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
limpv.2
/lɪmp/, U.S. /lɪmp/ a. intransitive. To walk lamely, to halt. Also with about, along, away. Occasionally with cognate object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk, tread, or step [verb (intransitive)] > limp
haltc825
cripplec1220
hip1440
limp1570
linch1570
claudicate1623
hop1700
crimple1754
hilch1786
crutch1828
hamble1828
dot1843
peg-leg1969
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Lii/2 To Limp, claudicare.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 274 Of Hawks..the Circos..is lame and limpeth of one leg.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 247 Why does the world report that Kate doth limpe ? View more context for this quotation
1648 Bp. J. Hall Breathings Devout Soul xxii. 34 That holy servant of thine..went limping away.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 80. ⁋7 I must therefore humbly beg Leave to limp along the Streets after my own Way.
1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) 151 Owre mony a weary hag he limpit.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. ii. 24 Limp along, like a pig in a string.
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville III. 259 His trail was followed for a long distance, which he must have limped alone.
1867 C. Dickens Let. 24 Jan. (1999) XI. 302 He limps about and does his work.
b. figurative; in quot. c1540, to fall short of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > be ineffective
faila1300
limpc1540
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 36 Sum lokyt ouer litle and lympit of the sothe.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande i. f. 3/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I And if anye of these three [sc. marks of the subjection of a country] lacke, doubtlesse the conquest limpeth.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 129 So farre this shadow doth limpe behind the substance. View more context for this quotation
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. iii. 216 The whole chain will become a rope of sand, and the consequence limp lame behind.
1821 C. Lamb in London Mag. June 612/2 I must limp after in my poor antithetical manner.
1887 E. A. Freeman Exeter iv. 90 The pentameter might perhaps have limped less if [etc.].
c. spec. Of a damaged ship, aircraft, etc.: to proceed slowly or with difficulty.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > movement of vehicles > move or go along [verb (intransitive)] > have characteristic motion > move with difficulty
limp1920
1920 Conquest Apr. 291/3 The ‘standard patch’ has rendered invaluable assistance in helping stricken ships to limp into port.
1935 C. Day Lewis Time to Dance & Other Poems 37 But he tinkered and coaxed, and they limped Over the Adriatic on into warmer regions.
1971 E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 10 Apr. 1/1 Mr. Sprinzel, driving car No. 16, a Range Rover, with his co-driver David Benson, limped back to Nairobi yesterday afternoon.
1973 Daily Tel. 1 Jan. 1/4 The Fleetwood trawler Wyre Captain, 490 tons, limped into port at Thorshavn, Faroe Islands, yesterday, with a damaged bridge and no navigation instruments.
Compounds
limp-verse; limp-legged adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > lameness or physical disability > [adjective]
limphalta700
lamec725
haltc893
cripplec1230
alamedc1275
crippleda1400
left-handeda1425
limb-take1519
limp-legged1523
limpish1570
lamish1592
limping1599
spavined1647
hip-shotten1648
hamble-shanked1661
hop-legged1714
cripply1775
bockety1842
estropiated1917
1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell 625 With that I herd gunnis russhe out at ones,..It made sum lympe legged, and broisid there bones.
1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Journall (new ed.) Upon Errata, sig. Dd7 What tho my limpe-verse be maimed?
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1c1200
n.21818n.31747
adj.1706v.1858v.21523