limber¹

[lim-ber] /ˈlɪm bər/

adjective

characterized by ease in bending the body; supple; lithe.

bending readily; flexible; pliant.

verb (used without object)

to make oneself limber (usually followed by up):

to limber up before the game.

verb (used with object)

to make (something) limber (usually followed by up):

She tried to limber up her wits before the exam.

Origin

1555-65; perhaps akin to limb¹

Related forms

limberly, adverb

limberness, noun

Synonyms

2. pliable. See flexible.

Antonyms

1, 2. stiff. 2. rigid, unbending.

limber²

[lim-ber] /ˈlɪm bər/

noun

a two-wheeled vehicle, originally pulled by four or six horses, behind which is towed a field gun or caisson.

verb (used with object)

to attach the limber to (a gun) in preparation for moving away (sometimes followed by up).

verb (used without object)

to attach a limber to a gun (usually followed by up).

Origin

1400-50; late Middle English lymo(u)r pole of a vehicle. See limb¹, -er¹

limber³

[lim-ber] /ˈlɪm bər/

noun

Usually, limbers. Nautical. a passage or gutter in which seepage collects to be pumped away, located on each side of a central keelson; bilge.

Origin

1620-30; perhaps < French lumière hole, light < Late Latin lūmināria; see luminaria

Examples from the web for limber

limber pine, with flexible twigs and needles in groups of five, may also be a part of subalpine forests.
All in all this was light and limber music, played with a casualness that belied its complexity.
It might even spur some in the web's paunchier quarters to limber up.
While still exacting, he seems mellower, though as limber and kinetic as ever.
Use mild stretching exercises to keep them limber and moving.
Now he has reported to camp, feeling more limber than he has in years.
His limber voice was weaker, but the eyes remained alert.
Stand it up to create a hip new office chair that keeps you limber all day long.
It's conceivable that these species needed to be so oddly limber while they were still embryos, to curl their necks up in the egg.
His muscles are limber, the rhythm steady, and then his shovel hits something not dirt.

British Dictionary definitions for limber

limber¹

/ˈlɪmbə/

adjective

capable of being easily bent or flexed; pliant

able to move or bend freely; agile

Derived Forms

limberly, adverb
limberness, noun

Word Origin

C16: origin uncertain

limber²

/ˈlɪmbə/

noun

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

verb

(usually foll by up) to attach the limber (to a gun, etc)

Word Origin

C15 lymour shaft of a gun carriage, origin uncertain

limber³

/ˈlɪmbə/

noun

(often pl) (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

C17: probably changed from French lumière hole (literally: light)

Word Origin and History for 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."

"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."

1748, from limber (adj.). Related: Limbered; limbering.