limber

Noun · Verb · Adjective
Synonyms: limber upsupple

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle used to pull a field gun or caisson

Verb (2)

  1. attach the limber“limber a cannon”Synonyms: limber up
  2. cause to become limber“The violist limbered her wrists before the concert”

Adjective (3)

  1. (used of e.g. personality traits) readily adaptable“a supple mind”“a limber imagination”Synonyms: supple
  2. (used of artifacts) easily bent
  3. (used of persons' bodies) capable of moving or bending freelySynonyms: supple
Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Limber \Lim"ber\ v. t. [imp. & p. p. Limbered (l[i^]m"b[~e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Limbering.] (Mil.) To attach to the limber; as, to limber a gun. [1913 Webster]

To limber up, to change a gun carriage into a four-wheeled vehicle by attaching the limber. [1913 Webster]

Limber \Lim"ber\, a. [Akin to limp, a. [root]125. See Limp, a.] Easily bent; flexible; pliant; yielding. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

The bargeman that doth row with long and limber oar. --Turbervile. [1913 Webster]

Limber \Lim"ber\ (l[i^]m"b[~e]r), n. [For limmer, Icel. limar branches, boughs, pl. of lim; akin to E. limb. See Limb a branch.]

1.pl. The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]

2.(Mil.) 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. [1913 Webster]

3.pl. (Naut.) Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to afford a passage for water to the pump well. [1913 Webster]

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 Limber 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. [1913 Webster]

Limber \Lim"ber\, v. t. To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant. --Richardson. [1913 Webster]
Advertisement