limp 1
— limper , n. — limpingly , adv.
/limp/ , v.i.
1. to walk with a labored, jerky movement, as when lame.
2. to proceed in a lame, faltering, or labored manner: His writing limps from one cliché to another. The old car limped along.
3. to progress slowly and with great difficulty; make little or no advance: an economy that limps along at a level just above total bankruptcy.
n.
4. a lame movement or gait: The accident left him with a slight limp.
[ 1560-70; back formation from obs. limphault lame; OE lemphealt limping (see HALT 2 ); akin to MHG limpfen to limp ]
limp 2
— limply , adv. — limpness , n.
/limp/ , adj., limper, limpest .
1. lacking stiffness or firmness, as of substance, fiber, structure, or bodily frame: a limp body.
2. lacking vitality; weary; tired; fatigued: Limp with exhaustion, she dropped into the nearest chair.
3. without firmness, force, energy, etc., as of character: limp, spiritless prose.
4. flexible; not stiff or rigid: a Bible in a limp leather binding.
[ 1700-10; perh. limpa slackness, limpilegur soft, flabby ]
Syn. 1. flabby, flaccid, soft. 2, 3 . feeble, weak.