shamble 1
/sham"beuhl/ , n.
1. shambles , ( used with a sing. or pl. v. )
a. a slaughterhouse.
b. any place of carnage.
c. any scene of destruction: to turn cities into shambles.
d. any scene, place, or thing in disorder: Her desk is a shambles.
2. Brit. Dial. a butcher's shop or stall.
[ bef. 900; ME shamel, OE sc ( e ) amel stool, table scamellum, L scamillum, dim. of L scamnum bench; cf. G Schemel ]
shamble 2
/sham"beuhl/ , v. , shambled, shambling , n.
v.i.
1. to walk or go awkwardly; shuffle.
n.
2. a shambling gait.
[ 1675-85; perh. short for shamble-legs one that walks wide (i.e., as if straddling), reminiscent of the legs of a SHAMBLE 1 (in earlier sense "butcher's table") ]