Etymology Unknown; possibly related to limb or limp + -er, as seen in clever, slipper (“slippery”), waker (“alert”), etc.
1
Flexible, pliant, bendable.
He's so limber that he can kiss his knee without bending it.
Not yet the bargeman that doth rowe / with long and limber oare1567, George Turberville, “A Myrrour of the fall of Pride”, in Epitaphs, Epigrams, Songs and Sonnets, page 155:
1 more example
This is a very complicated case, Maude. A lot of ins, a lot of outs. Fortunately, I'm adhering to a pretty strict drug regimen to keep my mind limber.1998, Joel and Ethan Coen, The Big Lebowski (motion picture), spoken by The Dude (Jeff Bridges):
Etymology Unknown; possibly related to limb or limp + -er, as seen in clever, slipper (“slippery”), waker (“alert”), etc.
1
To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant.
Her stiff hams, that have not been bent to a civility for ten years past, are now limbered into courtesies three deep at every word1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC:
Go back to the Island and limber up with a few drafts.1990, LOOM hint book, p. 12
limber
noun
Etymology For the obsolete limmer, from Old Norse limar (“branches”), plural of lim.
1
Government, Military, Politics, War A two-wheeled vehicle to which a wheeled artillery piece may be attached for transport. (Some versions have built-in storage bins for ammunition. Either the limber itself or the ammunition box may also be called a caisson.)
An' when the smoke 'ad cleared away, before the limber wheels, / There lay the Driver's Brother with 'is 'ead between 'is 'eels.1892, Rudyard Kipling, “Snarleyow”, in Barrack-Room Ballads and Other Verses, 3rd edition, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 37:
As the limber gunners went to the rear, his horse trod in a rabbit-hole and came down, throwing him into a depression of the ground.1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “At the Window”, in The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, published 1898, →OCLC, book I (The Coming of the Martians), page 83:
1 more example
we covered the rutted, rattling, dusty pot-holed roads of coastal Victoria, six big Walers in front, the cannon at the rear, and that unsprung cart they called a ‘limber’ in the middle.1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 29:
2
In plural The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage.
3
Nautical, TransportIn plural Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to allow water to pass to the pump well.
limber
verb
Etymology For the obsolete limmer, from Old Norse limar (“branches”), plural of lim.
1
Obsolete To prepare an artillery piece for transportation (i.e., to attach it to its limber.)