In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
LIMBER
limber, supple
(adjective) (used of persons’ bodies) capable of moving or bending freely
limber
(adjective) (used of artifacts) easily bent
limber, supple
(adjective) (used of e.g. personality traits) readily adaptable; “a supple mind”; “a limber imagination”
limber
(noun) a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle used to pull a field gun or caisson
limber
(verb) cause to become limber; “The violist limbered her wrists before the concert”
limber, limber up
(verb) attach the limber; “limber a cannon”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Adjective
limber (comparative limberer, )
Flexible, pliant, bendable.
Verb
limber (third-person singular simple present limbers, present participle limbering, simple past and past participle limbered)
To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant.
Etymology 2
Noun
limber (plural limbers)
(military) A two-wheeled vehicle to which a wheeled artillery piece or caisson may be attached for transport.
(in the plural) The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage.
(nautical, in the plural) Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to allow water to pass to the pump well.
Usage notes
• Sometimes the plural limbers was used to refer to a single such vehicle.
Verb
limber (third-person singular simple present limbers, present participle limbering, simple past and past participle limbered)
(obsolete) To prepare an artillery piece for transportation (i.e, to attach it to its limber.)
Antonyms
• unlimber
Source: Wiktionary
Lim"ber, n. Etym: [For limmer, Icel. limar branches, boughs, pl. of lim; akin to E. limb. See Limb a branch.]
1. pl.
Definition: The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage. [Prov. Eng.]
2. (Mil.)
Definition: The detachable fore part of a gun carriage, consisting of two wheels, an axle, and a shaft to which the horses are attached. On top is an ammunition box upon which the cannoneers sit.
3. pl. (Naut.)
Definition: Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to afford a passage for water to the pump well. Limber boards (Naut.), short pieces of plank forming part of the lining of a ship's floor immediately above the timbers, so as to prevent the limbers from becoming clogged.
– Limber box or chest (Mil.), a box on the limber for carrying ammunition.
– Limber rope, Limber chain or Limber clearer (Naut.), a rope or chain passing through the limbers of a ship, by which they may be cleared of dirt that chokes them. Totten.
– Limber strake (Shipbuilding), the first course of inside planking next the keelson.
Lim"ber v. t. [imp. & p. p. Limbered; p. pr. & vb. n. Limbering.] (Mil.)
Definition: To attach to the limber; as, to limber a gun. To limber up, to change a gun carriage into a four-wheeled vehicle by attaching the limber.
Lim"ber, a. Etym: [Akin to lim, a. Limp, a.]
Definition: Easily bent; flexible; pliant; yielding. Milton. The bargeman that doth row with long and limber oar. Turbervile.
Lim"ber, v. t.
Definition: To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant. Richardson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
25 December 2024
UNAMBIGUOUS
(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; “As a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguous”- Mario Vargas Llosa
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