limp

[limp]

adjective, limp·er, limp·est.

lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame: a limp body.

lacking vitality; weary; tired; fatigued: Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.

without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character: limp, spiritless prose.

flexible; not stiff or rigid: a Bible in a limp leather binding.

Origin of limp

1700–10; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Icelandic limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby

Related formslimp·ly, adverblimp·ness, noun

Synonyms for limp

1. flabby, flaccid, soft. 2, 3. feeble, weak.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for limper

supple, listless, soft, flabby, hitch, shuffle, waddle, falter, stagger, hop, hobble, stumble, bending, plastic, wearied, debilitated, weakened, tired, exhausted, relaxed

Examples from the Web for limper

Historical Examples of limper

Even the limper, in spite of all my search, had got off and was not to be found.
The Old Man of the Mountain, The Lovecharm and Pietro of Abano
Ludwig Tieck
Limper, the ostler, got "Grey Bobby" from the stable, and put him into the harness.
Lancashire Sketches
Edwin Waugh
He had come in loungingly, and he went out loungingly; but he was limper after the interview than before it.
Mrs. Thompson
William Babington Maxwell
The event is described in the metrical history of Rouen, composed by a minstrel ycleped Poirier, the limper.
Account of a Tour in Normandy, Vol. I. (of 2)
Dawson Turner
The victim gradually became paler and limper, until Maskull held a corpse in his arms.
A Voyage to Arcturus
David Lindsay

British Dictionary definitions for limper

limp

verb (intr)

to walk with an uneven step, esp with a weak or injured leg

to advance in a labouring or faltering manner

noun

an uneven walk or progress

Derived Formslimper, nounlimping, adjective, nounlimpingly, adverb

Word Origin for limp

C16: probably a back formation from obsolete limphalt lame, from Old English lemphealt; related to Middle High German limpfen to limp

limp

adjective

not firm or stiff

not energetic or vital

(of the binding of a book) not stiffened with boards

Derived Formslimply, adverblimpness, noun

Word Origin for limp

C18: probably of Scandinavian origin; related to Icelandic limpa looseness

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for limper

limp

1560s, of unknown origin, perhaps related to Middle English lympen "to fall short" (c.1400), which is probably from Old English lemphealt "halting, lame, limping," which has a lone cognate in the rare Middle High German limphin, and perhaps is from a PIE root meaning "slack, loose, to hang down" (cf. Sanskrit lambate "hangs down," Middle High German lampen "to hang down"). Related: Limped; limping. As a noun, 1818, from the verb.

limp

adj.

1706, "flaccid, drooping," of obscure origin, perhaps related to limp (v.).

limper in Medicine

limp

[lĭmp]

n.

An irregular, jerky, or awkward gait; a claudication.

v.

To walk lamely, especially with irregularity, as if favoring one leg.