hobble
[hob-uh l]
- to walk lamely; limp.
- to proceed irregularly and haltingly: His verses hobble with their faulty meters.
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- to cause to limp: His tight shoes hobbled him.
- to fasten together the legs of (a horse, mule, etc.) by short lengths of rope to prevent free motion.
- to impede; hamper the progress of.
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- an act of hobbling; an uneven, halting gait; a limp.
- a rope, strap, etc., used to hobble an animal.
- hobbles, a leg harness for controlling the gait of a pacer.
- Archaic. an awkward or difficult situation.
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Origin of hobble
1300–50; Middle English hobelen, apparently akin to hob protuberance, uneven ground, and to Dutch hobbelen, German hoppeln to jolt
Synonyms
See more synonyms for hobble on Thesaurus.com5. hinder, restrict, frustrate, cramp.
Antonyms
5. aid, assist, benefit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hobbling
Contemporary Examples
This time, Strike is hobbling all over London searching for Owen Quine, an author gone with no warning and no word for 10 days.
The hobbling skirts and the exaggerated peplums and darts looked like the wild dreams of a woman … as envisioned by a man.
We'll keep weeding out the troublesome ones, keep fattening and hobbling the submissive ones.
Historical Examples
His exordiums in particular were often hobbling and always unassuming.
Patrick HenryMoses Coit Tyler
Just then he saw, hobbling along, a wrinkled, ragged old woman.
"We'll go just as fast as you want to," said Tom, hobbling along to the stables.
Ruth Fielding and the GypsiesAlice B. Emerson
How she adored him, in spite of his great humps and his now hobbling legs!
The Secret of the Storm CountryGrace Miller White
A hobbling figure appeared for a moment on the side of the ravine.
Ruth Fielding Down EastAlice B. Emerson
hobble
- (intr) to walk with a lame awkward movement
- (tr) to fetter the legs of (a horse) in order to restrict movement
- to progress unevenly or with difficulty
- (tr) to hamper or restrict (the actions or scope of a person, organization, etc)
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- a strap, rope, etc, used to hobble a horse
- a limping gait
- British dialect a difficult or embarrassing situation
- a castrated ferret
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Also (for senses 2, 5): hopple
Word Origin
C14: probably from Low German; compare Flemish hoppelen, Middle Dutch hobbelen to stammer
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for hobbling
hobble
v.
c.1300, hoblen "to rock back and forth, toss up and down," probably related to its Dutch cognate hobbelen (which, however, is not recorded before late 15c.).
Meaning "to walk lamely" is from c.1400. Transitive sense of "tie the legs (of an animal)" first recorded 1831, probably an alteration of 16c. hopple, cognate with Flemish hoppelen "to rock, jump," which also is related to Dutch hobbelen. Sense of "hamper, hinder" is c.1870. Related: Hobbled; hobbling. The noun is 1727, from the verb.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper