Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “limber” come from?

Limber comes from Old Norse limar, from Old Norse lim, whose original meaning is not established.

limber (English): Flexible, pliant, bendable; To cause to become...

Definitions

  1. Flexible, pliant, bendable; To cause to become...

Ancestry of “limber”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlimmerA rogue; a low, base fellow; A promiscuous woman;...
2Frenchlimiersleuth; bloodhound, limer; sleuth; detective
3Frenchlienlink
4Middle Frenchlientie; strap; link
5Old Frenchlientie; strap
6Latinligāmen—
7Dutchligament—
8Latinligāmentum—
9Latin-mentuminstrument, medium, or result of; e.g....
10Latin-mentanominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural...
11Proto-Indo-European-mn̥Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs

Words derived from “limber”

  • limbers
  • unlimber
  • limberness
  • limberly
  • limberneck
  • limbersome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ →