I. ˈlim noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English lim, from Old English; akin to Old Norse limr member of the body, lim limb of a tree, Latin limit-, limes boundary, limit, limus sidelong, limin-, limen threshold, Greek leimōn meadow, limen-, limēn harbor, ōlenē elbow — more at ell
1. now dialect Britain : an organ or member of the body
2.
a. : one of the projecting paired appendages (as an arm, wing, fin, or parapodium) of an animal body made up of diverse tissues (as epithelium, muscle, and bone) derived from two or more germ layers and concerned especially with movement and grasping but sometimes modified into sensory or sexual organs
b. : a leg or arm of a human being
a froufrou of petticoats concealing their upper limbs — Godfrey Winn
lost the use of his limbs
artificial limbs — better elbows and wrists, legs capable of producing a smooth walking cadence — R.M.Yoder
packed so close together in a boat already leaking that they could hardly move a limb — B.N.Cardozo
3. : a large primary branch of a tree
the knotty limbs of an enormous oak — P.B.Shelley
4. : a person that is an active member or agent
choose such limbs of noble counsel — Shakespeare
lame the limbs of the democracy — J.A.Froude
limb of the law
5. : a branch or arm of something
a limb of the sea
a limb of a cross
the Stanleyville limb is a completely detached rail segment — Tom Marvel
elongation of the limbs of the letters — F.W.Goudy
6. : a mischievous child : a young scamp
his folks likely fretting themselves to prostration over him, the ungrateful limb — Helen Eustis
7. : either part of an archery bow from the handle to the tip
upper limb
lower limb
8. : one of the two parts of an anticline or syncline on either side of the axis
•
- out on a limb
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to cut or tear off the limbs of : dismember ; especially : to cut off the limbs of (a felled tree)
after being felled and limbed — W.F.Driver
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin limbus border — more at limp
1. : edge , border : as
a. : the graduated margin of an arc or circle in an instrument for measuring angles
b. : the graduated staff of a leveling rod
2. : the outer edge of the apparent disk of a celestial body or a portion of the edge
the east limb of the sun
3.
a. : the expanded portion of an organ or structure: as
(1) : the spreading upper portion of a gamosepalous calyx or a gamopetalous corolla as distinguished from the lower tubular portion
(2) : the broad terminal portion of a petal as contrasted with the narrow basal part
(3) : a leaf blade
b. : the margin or the terminal portion of the leaf in mosses when different in color or structure from the median or basal portion