▪ I. limb, n.1
(lɪm)
Forms: sing. 1–8 lim, 3–4 leome, leme, lime, 3–7 lym, 4–6 lyme, lymme, (5 leyme), 6–7 limme, limbe, 6– limb. pl. 1 limu, leomu, -o, -a, Northumb. lioma, 1–3 lime, (2 leoman), 2–3 limen, lemen, 3 leome(n, lumen, (lemman), leomes; also 2– regularly inflected in -s.
[OE. lim str. neut. = ON. lim-r str. masc. (Sw., Da. lem):—OTeut. type *limo-; according to Kluge from a root *lī̆- in OTeut. *liþu- lith n.; cf. also Lith. lëmů(:—*loimen-) trunk, stature.]
1. Any organ or part of the body. Obs. exc. dial.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 274 Gif an lim bið untrum, ealle ða oðre ðrowiað mid þam anum. a 1300 Cursor M. 2023 Naked o þat lime lai he þat man think mast scham to see. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xvi. 9 A man has na lym þat he is warere wiþ þan wiþ his eghe. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 195 We sighe..a mayde..i-torned into a man, and was i-berded anon, and anoon hadde alle lymes as a man schulde haue [L. barbamque et cetera virilia produxisse]. 1398 ― Barth. De P.R. iii. xvii. (Tollem. MS.) Þlyme of syȝte [L. organum visus]. 1484 Caxton Fables of Poge v, The lymmes of generacion were shewed manyfestly. 1642 Rogers Naaman 166 Self is overspread in all the lims and faculties of thy body and soule. 1880 W. Cornw. Gloss. s.v. Limb, ‘Your daughter looks well’. ‘No, she's but slight; her face is her best limb’. |
2. a. A part or member of an animal body distinct from the head or the trunk,
e.g. a leg, arm, wing.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 13 Þa clænan leomu þære halᵹan fæmnan. 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 (Laud MS.) [Hi] þrengde þe man þær inne ðet him bræcon alle þe limes. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 23 Þu sunegest mid summe of þisse limen ofter þenne þu scoldest. c 1205 Lay. 19501 Sa me scal lacnien his leomes þat beoð sare. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 252 Leomen buten liue. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 6/164 Þe strencþe him failede in is limes. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 139 His lyndes & his lymes so longe & so grete. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 385 Off lymmys he wes weill maid. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's Prol. 32 Oure old lemes mowe wel been vnweelde. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3762 A large man of lenght with limis full brode. c 1440 York Myst. xxviii. 21 My lymmys are heuy as any leede. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xxi. iii, He felle amonge the serpentys, & euery beest took hym by a lymme. 1508 Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. cxlii. Wks. (1876) 239 Beddes to refresshe theyr wery lymmes. 1558 G. Cavendish Poems (1825) II. 80 The Earle of Surrey, In dewe proportion she [nature] wrought hathe every lyme [rimes, tyme, clyme]. 1581 Mulcaster Positions vi. (1887) 41 Their weake limmes and failing ioyntes. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. ii. Disc. xiii. 163 He made crooked limmes become straight. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 37 This will stop the bleeding of an amputated Limb. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles v. xx, His trembling limbs their aid refuse. 1872 Mivart Elem. Anat. iv. 152 A vertebrate animal may exist without limbs, as we see..in most serpents. |
| fig. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 417 There is..no birde that flyeth with one winge, no loue that lasteth with one lym. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 728 Through the three Regions, Naturall, Vitall & Animal, we haue carried our Story..it followeth now that we prosecute our History vnto the Limmes. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. iv. 10 The very body of Antichristianism, with the distinct Limbs and Articulations thereof. |
b. = leg. Now only (
esp. U.S.) in mock-modest or prudish use.
| c 1400 Mandeville (1839) lxvi. 175 Summe han here Armes or here Lymes alle to broken, and somme the sydes. 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 182 Thy hanchis hirklis, with hukebanis harth and haw, Thy laithly lymis ar lene as ony treis. ? a 1550 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 316 The hingand brayis on adir syde Scho powtterit with hir lymmis wyde. a 1550 Christis Kirke Gr. iv, His lymis wer lyk two rokkis. 17.. Ramsay Scribblers Lash'd 116 If Nellie's hoop be twice as wide As her two pretty limbs can stride. 1785 Burns Jolly Beggars 1st Air iv, I lastly was with Curtis, among the floating batt'ries, And there I left for witness an arm and a limb. 1837 S. Knowles Love-Chase ii. i. Dram. Wks. 1856 II. 15 I'll show a limb with any of them! Silks I'll wear, nor keep my legs in cases more! 1839 Marryat Diary Amer. Ser. i. II. 245, I am not so particular as some people are, for I know those who always say limb of a table, or limb of a piano-forte. 1858 Pittsburg Chron. June (Bartlett), The poor brute [a horse]..fell..fracturing his limb. 1860 O. W. Holmes Elsie V. vii. (1861) 83 ‘A bit of the wing, Roxy, or the—under limb?’ 1885 in Farmer Slang (1891) II. 18/2 Between you'n me, red stockings ain't becomin' to all—ahem—limbs. 1898 M. Deland Old Chester Tales 237 But it was she who informed him that he might stay until his ‘limb’ permitted him to walk. 1902 H. L. Wilson Spenders xxxi. 369 One of my maids who slipped on the avenue yesterday and fractured one of her—er—limbs. 1904 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 5 Sept. 1 Her limbs were void of shoes or stockings. 1924 W. M. Raine Troubled Waters i. 12 She dexterously arranged the skirt without being able to conceal some inches of slender limb rising from a well-turned ankle. |
† c. pl. The pieces of a suit of armour.
| 1651 Davenant Gondibert i. vi. xliv, Some, who once were steadfast foot,..snatch those limbs which only horse⁓men wore. |
d. Phrases.
life and limb,
† limb and lith,
† limb and head,
† limb and bone,
limb and carcase,
limb and wind, expressions intended to refer inclusively to all the bodily faculties employed in certain connexions.
† limb and land, body or life and property.
† ilk(a) limb,
ich a limb, used
advb. in sense ‘in every limb, in every part of the body, all over’.
to tear or pull (one) limb from limb.
| c 1205 Lay. 702 Ȝe sculen habben lif & leomen [c 1275 lime]. Ibid. 2817 He hehte hælden grið & frið vppe leome & vppe lif. a 1300 Cursor M. 24619 Sua lam in lime and lith. c 1300 Havelok 2555 Als he louede leme or lif. a 1330 Roland & V. 493 He bi-held him ich a lim. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 81 Boþe his lyf and his leome was lost þorw my tonge. c 1430 Hymns Virg. 43 Saue þee harmelees, lyme & heed. c 1440 York Myst. xix. 2 Peyne of lyme and lande, Stente of youre steuenes stoute. c 1460 Towneley Myst. v. 26 He is blyssyd, ich a lym. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. lxxvi. 62 He had pyte of hem and yaf hem lyf and lymme. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 132 That their lifes and lymmes should be saved. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. xi. 23 Lym nor lyth I may not steir. 1584 Hudson Du Bartas' Judith v. (1608) 71 That Duke whose name alone Hath made great warriours quake both lim and bone. 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe Wks. 1883–4 V. 297 Hee will..tear him limbe from limbe, but hee will extract some capitall confession from him. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 120 Of able Body, sound of Limb and Wind. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. iii. (1840) 51 They pulled down..their houses, and pulled them..limb from limb. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge ii, The traveller..examined him in limb and carcass. 1888 Times (weekly ed.) 9 Nov. 16/2 Young men, strong of limb and wind. |
3. In uses originally
fig. (
cf. member).
a. A member (
e.g. of the church as ‘the body of Christ’, of Christ, of Antichrist); a branch or section; an element or component part.
Obs. exc. in nonce-uses, with distinct reference to a metaphorical ‘body’.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 276 Ge..sindon Cristes lichama and leomu. [c 1200 Vices & Virtues (1888) 27 Hie sculen bien mine lemen, and ich here heaued. a 1225 Ancr. R. 360 Nis God ure heaued, and we alle his limes?] c 1315 Shoreham Poems (E.E.T.S.) 23 Ȝef þat þou art A lyme of holy cherche. 1340 Ayenb. 182 Þe kueades þet byeþ ine þise wordle þet byeþ þe lemes of anticrist. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 412 God haþ ordeyned dyuerse lemes of hooly chirche. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶62 Ye were the children of God, and lymme of the regne of God. 1547–64 Bauldwin Mor. Philos. (Palfr.) 91 In the soules of men is ingenerate a limbe of science, which with the mixture of a terrestriall substance is darkened. 1550 Veron Godly Sayings (1846) 19 His Christian brethren, whom he heareth alsoo to be the lymmes of Christ. 1565 Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 402 Your Schoolemasters and you are a limme of Antichrist. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxvi. 1, All lands, the lymms of earthy round. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxviii. §9 A part of the house of God, a limme of the visible church of Christ. 1607 Hieron Wks. I. 115 The whole order thereof in euery part and limme set downe in His eternall wisedome and prouidence. 1661 Marvell Corr. xxv. Wks. 1872–5 II. 61 So considerable a body in yourselves and so honourable a limb of the towne. 1679 Dryden Troilus & Cr. Pref. b 3 b, Fletcher..was a Limb of Shakespear. 1773 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 441, I never can forget that I am an Irishman..I think I would shed my blood, rather than see the limb I belong to oppressed. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. ii. (1856) 22 Our little corps of officers..including that non-effective limb, the doctor. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. vi. 83 An army is but the limb of a nation. |
b. † the devil's limb or
the fiend's limb,
limb of the devil,
limb of Satan,
limb of hell: an agent or scion of the evil one; an imp of Satan; hence, a mischievous wicked person (now
dial.).
† So also
thieves' limb.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 33 Cuþ is þæt se awyrᵹda gast is heafod ealra unrihtwisra dæda, swylce unrihtwise syndon deofles leomo. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 78/20 Zaroen and Arphaxat þat þe deueles limes were. a 1340 Hampole Psalter iii. 1 Many, þat is, fendes & þe fendes lymmys, rises agayns me. c 1350 St. Mary Magd. 212 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 83 A, lym of Satenas, þi sire! c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 109 Þe deuelis lyms maden discencion..aȝenst hem. 1434 Rolls of Parlt. V. 435 A disciple and lyme of the feende called the Pucelle. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 2763 Judas y{supt} thevis lymme. a 1540 Barnes Wks. (1573) 189/2 Such a vyllayne, and lymme of y⊇ deuell. 1607 Hieron Wks. I. 201 The gift of regeneration, which is that whereby a man, of a limme of Sathan, is made a member of Christ. 1645 Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 45 He hath made many black limbs of hell fair saints in heaven. 1660 Dickson Job x. Sel. Writ. (1845) I. 71 Ye may as well say, ‘I am naturally a devil's limb’. 1833 J. S. Sands Poems 86 (E.D.D.) Divide my game, ye devil's limbs! |
c. Hence
limb alone is used for: A mischievous person (now applied mostly to children); a young imp or rascal.
colloq.| 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. iii. Intermeane (1631) 49, I had it from my maid Joane Heare-say: shee had it from a limbe o' the schoole, shee saies, a little limbe of nine yeere old. 1735 Dyche & Pardon Dict., Limb,..sometimes 'tis a Term of Reproach, signifying a Scold, or very turbulent Woman. 1760 Foote Minor ii. Wks. 1799 I. 269 Ah, Foote's a precious limb! Old Nick will soon a football make of him! 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxii, Now listen, you young limb. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xx, ‘See there!..don't that show she's a limb?’ 1862 Calverley Verses & Transl. 7 He was what nurses call a ‘limb’. |
d. limb of the law: a derisive name for a legal functionary of any kind,
e.g. a lawyer, a police officer. Also
occas. limb of the bar: a barrister.
| 1730 Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 35 He is a Limb of the Law and will be over here [at York] at our Assizes. 1753 School of Man 149 There's another Limb of the Law starting from his bed to peruse a case recommended to him. 1770 Foote Lame Lover iii. Wks. 1799 II. 92 Well said, my young limb of the law. 1809 Gil Blas i. v. ¶7 A limb of the law, who had hitherto taken us under his protection. 1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 260 As a limb of the Bar, I with honour renown 'em. |
† e. applied to things.
Obs.| 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boeth. iii. pr. x. 64 What tho' all these good thinges, sufficiency, powre, all be but lyms of blissidnes. c 1640 New Serm. of newest fashion (1877) 37 That Heathenish Structure, the lim of Idolatry Cheapside Crosse. 1661 Merry Drollery i. 2 But she a Babe of grace..Thought kissing a disgrace A Limbe of prophanation In that place. |
4. Transferred senses.
a. A main branch of a tree.
| Beowulf 97 (Gr.) Se ælmihtiᵹa..ᵹefrætwade foldan sceatas leomum and leafum. 1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. lxxxiii. 764 His [the cedar's] limmes and branches be long and stretched out. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. Jan. (1706) 5 In taking off an whole Branch or Limb, cut close to the Stem. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. xx. (1840) 354 A large limb of the tree. 1863 Woolner My Beautiful Lady 114 Giant shadows trenched the frosty ground From bole and limb. 1879 Jefferies Wild Life in S. Co. 271 Elms are often stripped..to make the timber..free from the great branches called ‘limbs’. |
b. In various uses, chiefly of material things and more or less technical: A projecting section of a building,
e.g. the outworks of a castle; one of the four branches composing a cross; a member or clause of a sentence, or the like; a spur of a mountain range; one of the pieces which compose the lock of a gun; the part of a compound core of a transformer, electromagnet, etc., on which a coil is wound.
| 1577 Holinshed Chron. I. Hist. Scot. 477/1 They wanne the lims of the house vpon them, forcing the capitayne..to retire within the dongeon. 1577–87 Ibid. III. 593/1 After that all the lymmes of the Castell had beene reuersed and throwne downe, they kept the maister Tower. 1609 Hieron Wks. I. 411 Now followeth that limme of the prayer, which concernes the man. 1612 Webster White Devil I 3 b, I haue heard you say, giuing my brother sucke, Hee tooke the Crucifix betweene his hands, And broke a limbe off. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §97 A carpenter's square, having a spirit-level fixed upon one of its Limbs. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. viii, A slender crosslet..The shaft and limbs were rods of yew. 1832 J. Hodgson in Raine Mem. (1858) II. 258 The outer gateway and court which stood on the most northerly limb of the hill. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 20 There is a spiral stair-case within one of its [an arch's] immense limbs. 1859 Musketry Instruct. iii. 11 Name the limbs of the lock, and the other principal parts of the rifle. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xv. 355 In another limb of the same sentence. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. x. 515 A short eastern limb, ending in an apse, contained the high altar. 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 845 So great an increase of arterial pressure as to rupture a limb of the aortic valve. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 584/1 These [portions] are: (1) the magnet ‘cores’ or ‘limbs’, carrying the exciting coils whereby the inert iron is converted into an electro⁓magnet; (2) the yoke, which joins the limbs together and conducts the flux between them; and (3) the pole-pieces. 1934 H. Cotton Design Electr. Machinery viii. 162 With core-type transformers the cross-section of the limbs may be rectangular in the case of small transformers, but it is more usual to adopt for all sizes a cross-section which fits as closely as possible into a circumscribing circle. 1943 Gloss. Terms Electr. Engin. (B.S.I.) 40 Those parts of the [transformer] core surrounded by windings are termed legs or limbs and those not so surrounded are termed yokes. |
† c. [
tr. med.L.
membrum.] An estate, etc. dependent on another.
Obs.| [1442 in Madox Formul. Anglic. (1702) 147 Manerium de Raskell cum omnibus suis membris & pertinenciis suis.] 1605–47 Habington Surv. Worcs. in Worcs. Hist. Soc. Proc. III. 403 Thys chappell is a lym of Suckley, havinge neyther buryall nor Armes. Ibid. 405 Escelie, Wolscote and Wolaston are but lyms of the Manor of Swineford. |
d. out on a limb, in an isolated or stranded position; at a disadvantage.
orig. U.S.| 1897 A. H. Lewis Wolfville 59 Seven of us..seein' whatever can we tie down an' brand, when some Mexicans gets us out on a limb. 1934 Amer. Speech IX. 11/2 A player is out on a limb when he is allowed to play a hand at an overambitious contract. 1939 F. Scott Fitzgerald Let. Winter (1964) 50 She might not consider the rearrangement of someone else's words a literary composition, which would leave you out on a limb. 1943 J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday xxvii. 210 Somebody does something dam' silly, which probably means that some poor devils somewhere are left out on a limb. 1948 J. Steinbeck Russ. Jrnl. (1949) iii. 41 No one is willing to go out on any limb. No one is willing to say yes or no to a proposition. He must always go to someone higher. 1959 Economist 18 Apr. 214/2 President Nasser is out on a bit of a limb, but in this uncomfortable situation he can take comfort from the thought that there is still no other pan-Arab leader in sight. 1972 Guardian 7 Feb. 10/6 Once in the Commission, the British Civil Servant will feel out on a limb, away from the main-stream of his department. 1973 Times 23 May 16/5 At the international law of the sea conference Britain could find herself isolated and out on a limb. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
limb arch,
limb-bone,
limb-dance,
limb-ease,
limb-fitter,
limb-fitting,
limb-muscle,
limb-nerve,
limb-vessel;
limb-numbing,
limb-strewn adjs.;
† limb-broken a., affected with hernia, ruptured;
limb-bud Embryol., in an embryo, a small protuberance from which a limb develops;
limb-girdle Anat. (see
girdle n.1 4 b);
limb-guard, defensive armour for the arm or leg;
limb-kinetic a. Path., denoting a form of apraxia (see
quot. 1966);
limb-length advb. phr., with limbs stretched out to their full length;
† limb-lifter, a fornicator;
† limb-take a., crippled;
limb-wood (see
quot.). Also
limb-meal.
| 1883 Martin & Moale Vertebr. Dissect. 102 The general arrangement of the skeleton; its..*limb arches and limbs. |
| 1854 Owen Skel. & Teeth (1855) 6 The strength and lightness of the *limb-bones. |
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. xix. (Tollem. MS.), It heleþ hem at þe beste þat beþ *lyme broke [ed. 1535 limme broken L. herniosis]. |
| 1906 G. R. Satterlee Outl. Human Embryol. v. 55 Outgrowths of mesenchyme occur from the lateral portion of the trunk. These projections are called the *limb-buds, and are the anlages for the arms and legs. 1926 [see cultivate v. 2 b]. 1965 L. B. Arey Developmental Anat. (ed. 7) xii. 210 The limb buds appear late in the fourth week as lateral swellings. |
| a 1885 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) 79 While cripples are, while lepers, dancers in dismal *limb-dance. |
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes i. i. 6 Longing for *limb-ease, and tooth motion. |
| 1967 Economist 8 Apr. 121/3 Hangers granted a rise..to its *limb-fitters from the start of this year. |
| 1920 Glasgow Herald 3 Dec. 8 The *limb-fitting centres in the United Kingdom have been increased from 6 to 20. 1959 Chambers's Encycl. I. 652/1 Roehampton, the chief limb-fitting centre in England. |
| 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life 33 Possessed of no functional limbs nor *limb-girdles. |
| 1869 Boutell Arms & Arm. viii. (1874) 125 At this time [c 1350] the *limb-guards were made to enclose the limbs within back and front pieces, hinged and buckled together. |
| 1914, 1933 *Limb-kinetic [see ideokinetic adj. s.v. ideo-]. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. I. 494/1 Several forms of apraxia are usually distinguished. The lowest order apraxia is called limb-kinetic or motor... Limb-kinetic apraxia refers to a loss of coordination usually affecting one upper limb only. Gross movements may be performed fairly well, whereas fine individual movements of the fingers are lost. |
| 1873 Symonds Grk. Poets vii. 211 Where the Bacchantes lie *limb-length beneath the silver⁓firs. |
| 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 33 Better might they say them selues to be ..perfect *Limme lifters for teaching the trickes of euery strumpet. 1608 Middleton Fam. Love v. iii, Abroad thou'rt like a stone horse, you old limb lifter. 1611 Florio, Leuante,..a lim-lifter, an vp-taker, a bold pilfrer. |
| 1898 P. Manson Trop. Diseases xiv. 231 Atrophied *limb-muscles. |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 309 The sweat-nerves, although ultimately in the *limb-nerves, do not leave the cervical or lumbar regions of the cord in the anterior roots of these nerves. |
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iii. Furies 173 The stifning Carpese, th'eyes-foe Hemlock stinking, *Limb-numming belching, and the sinew-shrinking Dead-laughing Apium. |
| 1813 Shelley Q. Mab v. 101 Amid the horrors of the *limb-strewn field. |
| 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 106 Brute beestis cherisshe vp theyr kynde: thoughe they be *lymtake, or be nummed. |
| 1898 J. Hutchinson Archives Surg. IX. 333 All the larger *limb-vessels must also be simultaneously affected. |
| 1901 J. Black Illustr. Carpenter & Builder Ser.: Home Handicrafts 62 [For mosaic work] black is obtained by using ebony or bog oak..green, by..a species of native green oak, known as ‘*limb wood’. |
[4.] [b.] Add: The upper or lower half of a long-bow (also
fig., of a rainbow). (Earlier and later examples.)
| 1801 T. Roberts Eng. Bowman iv. v. 142 The English bow-makers have, generally, placed the upper part of the handle..above the exact center of the bow; which..makes the lower limb so much longer. The reason..is..in order to make both limbs act equally. 1823 W. Scoresby Jrnl. Voy. Northern Whale Fishery 23 A little before sunset, a weather-gall (or the limb of a rain-bow), of extraordinary brilliancy, appeared. 1939 P. H. Gordon New Archery i. ii. 10 Here the bows were long and angular in the top limb, short and rigid in the lower. 1972 T. Foy Beginner's Guide to Archery iii. 26 Determine which limb of the bow should be at the top, which can be done by looking at the handle. 1991 Peterson's Bowhunting Dec. 14/3 In the evolution of the longbow, bowyers concentrated on limb design to improve cast. |
▪ II. limb, n.2 (
lɪm)
Also 6–7
lymb(e,
limbe, (7
lembe).
[ad. L. limb-us hem, border, edge, fringe, zodiac, of F. limbe (= It., Sp., Pg. limbo). Cf. limbus, limbo.] † 1. Sc. = limbo 1,
limbus 1.
Obs.| c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 492 (1888) 18 For sawles fro helles Lymbe shuld passe maugre thaire foos. 1513 Douglas æneis vi. Prol. 92 The Lymb of faderis auld, With Lymbus puerorum. 1528 Lyndesay Dreme 360 That was the Lymbe, in the quhilk did remaine Our Fore-fatheris, because Adam offendit. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 8 The fatheris, quha war abyddand, in the limbe and place of rest. 1600 J. Hamilton Facile Traictise X 3, To hyd the deliuerance of the patriarches and vthers Iust men, in the auld law out of the lymbe of the fathers. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) X. s.v. Limb, Limbus... The limb of the patriarchs... The limb of infants dying without baptism. |
† 2. A border or edging.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1644 Digby Nat. Bodies xxx. (1645) 321 There must appeare at the bottom of the paper, a Lembe of deepe blew. |
3. In scientific use; The edge or boundary of a surface.
a. gen.| 1704 Newton Optics (1721) 209 The violet and blue at the exterior Limbs of each Ring, and the red and yellow at the interior. 1791 W. Bartram Carolina 501 Their ears are lacerated, separating the border or cartelaginous limb. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. 268 Disk, the middle of a surface. Limb, the circumference. Margin, the extreme sides. 1831 Literary Gaz. 15 Jan. 40/3 The points thus formed being carefully marked on the limb of the circle, the intervals are then subdivided [etc.]. |
b. The graduated edge of a quadrant or similar instrument.
| 1593 T. Fale Dialling 50 b, The 63{supd}. 30{supm}. of the limbe of the Quadrant. 1594 Blundevil Exerc. vii. xx. (1636) 677 The limbe of the Mariners Astrolabe is traced..with three Circles, making two spaces to containe therein the degrees and numbers of altitude. 1690 Leybourn Curs. Math. 715 b, The Limb of the Quadrant is divided into 90..Degrees. 1774 M. Mackenzie Maritime Surv. 34 Mark down the Degrees and Minutes shewn on the Limb. 1837 Whewell Hist. Induct. Sci. (1857) I. 154. |
c. The edge of the disk of a heavenly body,
esp. of the sun and moon.
| a 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. iv. viii. 364 The perception of Sense..judgeth..the Limb of the Heavenly Horizon to be contiguous to the Earth. 1726 tr. Gregory's Astron. I. 39 The Eastern Limb of the Moon will first cover the Western of the Sun, and the Western of the Moon will last uncover the Eastern Limb of the Sun. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 305 When astronomers, in describing an eclipse, talk of the shadow of the earth touching the outer limb of the moon. 1812 Woodhouse Astron. xi. 90 The lower limb of the Sun when setting. 1879 Newcomb & Holden Astron. 301 Similar prominences were seen about the sun's limb. 1891 T. Hardy Tess i. ix, The sun's lower limb was just free of the hill. |
d. Bot. The lamina or expanded portion of a monopetalous corolla, of a petal or sepal. Also, the lamina or blade of a leaf.
| 1735 Dyche & Pardon Dict., Limb,..among the Florists, 'tis the Edge of Leaves, Flowers, &c. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. i. iii. (1765) 7 One Petal; it consists of two Parts, viz...the Limb, or upper Part, which usually spreads wider. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. I. 6 The upper large part of the petal is termed the limb, and the lower the claw. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. i. vii. 85 In a gamopetalous corolla..the lower united portion is called the tube; the free divisions, which indicate the number of parts cohering, the limb. |
e. Zool. In trilobites (see
quot.)
| 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. vi. 258 The limb, or lateral area on either side [of the glabellum] answers to a thoracic pleuron. Ibid. 259 The limb is thus divided into two parts—one fixed.., attached to the glabellum; the other separable.., on which the eye is placed. |
4. Special
Comb.:
limb-darkening Astr., the apparent darkening of the face of the sun towards its edges.
| 1931 Monthly Notices R. Astr. Soc. XCI. 893, I(x) is of the form a-mx (limb darkening linearly proportional to distance from the centre). 1938 Astrophysical Jrnl. LXXXVII. 45 (heading) The effect of an adiabatic layer upon solar limb darkening. 1962 Science Survey III. 103 Visual observations..show that the sun's disc is brightest at the centre, becoming gradually dimmer towards the outer edge, or limb. This phenomenon is known as limb darkening, and is due to the fact that we look less and less deeply into the hotter layers of the sun as we view its surface more obliquely. |
▪ III. limb, v. (
lɪm)
[f. limb n.1] 1. trans. a. To pull limb from limb; to dismember. Also with
up.
| 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. To Rdr., As the one had wrackt and limm'd my thoughts..so had the other nipt in my soul and shrivell'd up my thoughts. 1693 Smallridge Jul. Cæsar in Dryden's Plutarch IV. 482 They..ran..up and down the city, to find out the men, and limb them. 1731 Bailey vol. II, To limb, to pull limb from limb. 1885 Tromholt Aurora Borealis I. 172 The intestines being taken out, the trunk is limbed up..each joint being skilfully dissected. 1888 Daily News 10 Sept. 7/1 As to hearing the defendant threaten to ‘limb’ the complainant. |
b. To remove branches from (a tree).
| 1835 H. Evans Jrnl. 2 July in Mississippi Valley Hist. Rev. (1927) XIV. 202 Weather beaten cotton wood trees limbed and shattered by the storms of the prairies. 1839 E. Holmes Rep. Explor. Aroostook River 53 The best mode undoubtedly is to fall the trees and ‘limb’ them (that is, cut off the limbs,) in June. 1889 Harper's Mag. Jan. 231/1 It seemed to be built principally of alder poles well limbed off and placed, roughly speaking, side by side. 1971 Timber Trades Jrnl. 3 Apr. 58/2 The chainsaw has long been used for limbing hardwoods. |
† 2. refl. To provide oneself with limbs.
Obs.| 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 352 As they please, They Limb themselves, and colour, shape or size Assume, as likes them best. |
▪ IV. limb obs. form of
limn.