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Added 9 October 2026

limp

/lɪmp/ verb

In Latin: claudeō, claudicō Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about limp at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To walk lamely, as if favoring one leg.
To travel with a malfunctioning system of propulsion.
The bomber limped home on one engine.
To move or proceed irregularly.
limping verses

noun

An irregular, jerky or awkward gait.
She walks with a limp.
A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve.

adjective

Flaccid; flabby, resembling flesh.
Lacking stiffness; floppy, flimsy.
a limp rope
Soft; weak, especially physically.

verb

To be inadequate or unsatisfactory.

Origin

From Middle English limpen (“to fall short”), from Old English limpan, from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with Low German lumpen (“to limp”), Middle High German limpfen (“to hobble, limp”), dialectal German lampen (“to hang down loosely”), Icelandic limpa (“limpness, weakness”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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