limb

¹

[lim]

noun

1. a part or member of an animal body distinct from the head and trunk, as a leg, arm, or wing.

   the lower limbs;

   artificial limbs.

   Synonyms: extremity

2. a large or main branch of a tree.

3. a projecting part or member.

   the four limbs of a cross.

4. a person or thing regarded as a part, member, branch, offshoot, or scion of something.

   a limb of the central committee.

5. Archery.,  the upper or lower part of a bow.

6. Informal.,  a mischievous child, imp, or young scamp.

verb (used with object)

1. to cut the limbs from (a felled tree).

limb

²

[lim]

noun

1. Astronomy.,  the edge of the disk of the sun, a moon, or a planet.

2. the graduated edge of a quadrant or similar instrument.

3. Botany.

   1. the upper spreading part of a gamopetalous corolla.

   2. the expanded portion of a petal, sepal, or leaf.

limb

¹

/ lɪm /

noun

1. an arm or leg, or the analogous part on an animal, such as a wing

2. any of the main branches of a tree

3. a branching or projecting section or member; extension

4. a person or thing considered to be a member, part, or agent of a larger group or thing

5. a mischievous child (esp in limb of Satan or limb of the devil )

6. 1. in a precarious or questionable position

   2. isolated, esp because of unpopular opinions

verb

1. (tr) a rare word for dismember

limb

²

/ lɪm /

noun

1. the edge of the apparent disc of the sun, a moon, or a planet

2. a graduated arc attached to instruments, such as the sextant, used for measuring angles

3. botany

   1. the expanded upper part of a bell-shaped corolla

   2. the expanded part of a leaf, petal, or sepal

4. either of the two halves of a bow

5. Also called: fold limb. either of the sides of a geological fold

limb

1. One of the appendages of an animal, such as an arm of a starfish, the flipper of dolphins, or the arm and leg of a human, used for locomotion or grasping.

2. The expanded tip of a plant organ, such as a petal or corolla lobe.

3. The circumferential edge of the apparent disk of a celestial body.

Other Word Forms

• limbless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of limb¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English lim, lim(m)e, Old English lim; akin to Old Norse lim “small branches, foliage,” limr “limb, joint (of meat),” līmi “broom (of twigs), rod,” Latin līmus “askew, aslant,” līmen “transverse beam, threshold, lintel”; the spelling limb first appears at the end of the 16th century, probably influenced by limb ² ( def. )

Origin of limb²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English limbe, from Old French limbe, and Latin limbus limbus ²; limbo ¹ ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of limb¹

Old English lim; related to Old Norse limr

Origin of limb²

C15: from Latin limbus edge

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. out on a limb, in a dangerous or compromising situation; vulnerable.

   The company overextended itself financially and was soon out on a limb.

see out on a limb; risk life and limb.

Synonym Study

See branch.

Example Sentences

My determination moves my limbs forward—first a walk, and then a run.

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They ended up sprawled on the bakehouse floor, a tragic tangle of limbs.

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All three children pretended to devour their own limbs.

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Very slowly, she opened them, whereupon she beheld an astonishing sight: Cassiopeia had all four limbs wrapped around the guard’s leg, with her teeth sunk into his trousers.

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We would also stand together beneath the one-hundred-foot limbs of the famous Emancipation Oak, which reached out to embrace us.

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Related Words

• arm 
• branch 
• extremity 
• leg 
• stem 
• wheel 
• wing