limber1
- characterized by ease in bending the body; supple; lithe.
- bending readily; flexible; pliant.
- to make oneself limber (usually followed by up): to limber up before the game.
- to make (something) limber (usually followed by up): She tried to limber up her wits before the exam.
Origin of limber1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for limber on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
limber2
- a two-wheeled vehicle, originally pulled by four or six horses, behind which is towed a field gun or caisson.
- to attach the limber to (a gun) in preparation for moving away (sometimes followed by up).
- to attach a limber to a gun (usually followed by up).
Origin of limber2
limber up
- (intr) (esp in sports) to exercise in order to be limber and agile
- (tr) to make flexible
limber1
- capable of being easily bent or flexed; pliant
- able to move or bend freely; agile
Word Origin
limber2
- part of a gun carriage, often containing ammunition, consisting of an axle, pole, and two wheels, that is attached to the rear of an item of equipment, esp field artillery
- (usually foll by up) to attach the limber (to a gun, etc)
Word Origin
limber3
- (often plural) nautical (in the bilge of a vessel) a fore-and-aft channel through a series of holes in the frames (limber holes) where water collects and can be pumped out
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for limber up
limber
v.
1748, from limber (adj.). Related: Limbered; limbering.
limber
adj.
"pliant, flexible," 1560s, of uncertain origin, possibly from limb (n.1) on notion of supple boughs of a tree [Barnhart], or from limp "flaccid" [Skeat], or somehow from Middle English lymer "shaft of a cart" (see limber (n.)), but the late appearance of the -b- in that word argues against it. Related: Limberness. Dryden used limber-ham (see ham (n.1) in the "joint" sense) as a name for a character "perswaded by what is last said to him, and changing next word."
limber
n.
"detachable forepart of a gun carriage," 1620s, from Middle English lymer (early 15c.), earlier lymon (c.1400), probably from Old French limon "shaft," a word perhaps of Celtic origin, or possibly from Germanic and related to limb (n.1). Hence, limber (v.) "to attach a limber to a gun" (1843). Cf. related Spanish limon "shaft," leman "helmsman."