See Also: limb(dictionary)
limb(2)(dictionary)
limb(dictionary)
limb bud(medicine)
limb(1)(dictionary)
Limb(medicine)
phantom limb(medicine)
thoracic limb(medicine)
pelvic limb(medicine)
superior limb(medicine)

limb(1) (iou)



limb noun1.
[Old English lim corresp. to Old Norse limr, prob. rel. to LITH noun1.]
An organ or part of the body. Long obsolete exc. dial. OE.
A projecting part of a human or animal body such as a leg, arm, or wing. OE.
C. Blackwood He had an artificial limb, for he had lost a leg in the war. M. Scammell They climbed down from..the lorries and stretched their stiff limbs.
b. spec. A leg of an animal or person; (now joc.) a leg of an object. LME.
J. F. Cooper His limbs were guarded with long leggings.
Orig., a member; a section, a branch; an element, a component part. Now only, a member of something regarded metaphorically as a body. OE.
A. W. Kinglake An army is but the limb of a nation.
A large branch of a tree. OE.
spec. A projecting section of a building; each of the branches of a cross; a member or clause of a sentence; a spur of a mountain range; the part of a compound core of a transformer, electromagnet, etc., on which a coil is wound. L16.
[from devil's limb etc. below] A mischievous person, esp. a child; a young imp or rascal. colloq. E17.
A. West Off it, you young limb, and out of there.
Either half of an archery bow. E19.
Phrases: devil's limb, fiend's limb (a) an agent or scion of the Devil; (b) (now dial.) a mischievous wicked person. life and limb all the bodily faculties (with life and limb, without grave injury). limb of the Devil, limb of Satan, limb of hell = devil's limb above. limb of the law derog. a legal functionary; a lawyer, a police officer. out on a limb in an isolated or stranded position; at a disadvantage. PHANTOM limb. tear limb from limb dismember violently.
Comb.: limb-bud a small protuberance in an embryo from which a limb develops.
limblike adjective resembling (that of) a limb L19.