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. out on a limb
   out on a limb
   1. in a precarious or questionable position
   2. isolated, esp because of unpopular opinions

verb

1. See dismember
   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 calledfold limb either of the sides of a geological fold

limb

/ lĭm /

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.

Derived Forms

• ˈlimbless, adjective

Other Words From

• limb·less 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.

More idioms and phrases containing limb

see out on a limb ; risk life and limb .

Synonym Study

See branch.

Example Sentences

They’ve got an extra set of limbs — two human arms plus four horse legs.

From Science News For Students

The reps are performed slowly, taking ten seconds up and ten seconds down, without locking the limbs or resting at the top or bottom of the motion.

From Outside Online

Just wrap it around a green limb bent into a circle and face it into the sun.

From Popular-Science

A 2019 meta-analysis found no benefits to muscle strength, and another 2019 meta-analysis found benefits to upper limb but not lower limb muscle strength.

From Outside Online

Her hair’s a mess, her limbs are streaked with blood, and there’s a ball-busting steeliness in her eyes.

From Time

Inevitably, the old visceral “hands-on” flying skills, no longer much employed by pilots, have atrophied like an unused limb.

From The Daily Beast

Mating with a cousin or brother is safer than risking life and limb to mate with an outsider.

From The Daily Beast

“We can do anything here from open heart surgery to limb amputations,” he says.

From The Daily Beast

Some might want to be the star, others to direct, but it takes a special breed to want to risk life and limb as a stuntman.

From The Daily Beast

So now, keeping all that in mind, how many Afghans do you think risked life and limb to cast their ballot?

From The Daily Beast

The secretary trembled in his every limb; his eyes shunned his master's as his master's had shunned Garnache's awhile ago.

From Project Gutenberg

"You have give a limb," repeated Perry, emphasizing the announcement by shaking his finger at the old man.

From Project Gutenberg

Those in favor of hanging carried the day, so he was led under the projecting limb of a tree and a rope placed around his neck.

From Project Gutenberg

Scattergood, with great show of solicitude, dispatched a youngster to the deacon's house for his extra limb.

From Project Gutenberg

It was such a partition as is effected by hacking a living man limb from limb.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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