[syn: hopple, hobble]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hobble \Hob"ble\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hobbled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Hobbling.] [OE. hobelen, hoblen, freq. of hoppen to hop;
akin to D. hobbelen, hoblen, hoppeln. See Hop to jump, and
cf. Hopple ]
1. To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk with a
hitch or hop, or with crutches.
[1913 Webster]
The friar was hobbling the same way too. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. To move roughly or irregularly; -- said of style in
writing. --Prior.
[1913 Webster]
The hobbling versification, the mean diction.
--Jeffreys.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hobble \Hob"ble\, v. t.
1. To fetter by tying the legs; to hopple; to clog. " They
hobbled their horses." --Dickens
[1913 Webster]
2. To perplex; to embarrass.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hobble \Hob"ble\, n.
1. An unequal gait; a limp; a halt; as, he has a hobble in
his gait. --Swift.
[1913 Webster]
2. Same as Hopple.
[1913 Webster]
3. Difficulty; perplexity; embarrassment. --Waterton.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
hobble
n 1: a shackle for the ankles or feet [syn: fetter, hobble]
2: the uneven manner of walking that results from an injured leg
[syn: hitch, hobble, limp]
v 1: walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury; "The
old woman hobbles down to the store every day" [syn:
limp, gimp, hobble, hitch]
2: hamper the action or progress of; "The chairman was hobbled
by the all-powerful dean"
3: strap the foreleg and hind leg together on each side (of a
horse) in order to keep the legs on the same side moving in
unison; "hobble race horses" [syn: hopple, hobble]