hobble

hobble
hobble (v.) c.1300, hoblen "to rock back and forth, toss up and down," probably related to its Dutch cognate hobbelen (which, however, is not recorded before late 15c.). Meaning "to walk lamely" is from c.1400. Transitive sense of "tie the legs (of an animal)" first recorded 1831, probably an alteration of 16c. hopple, cognate with Flemish hoppelen "to rock, jump," which also is related to Du. hobbelen. Sense of "hamper, hinder" is c.1870. Related: Hobbled; hobbling. The noun is 1727, from the verb.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hobble — Hob ble, n. 1. An unequal gait; a limp; a halt; as, he has a hobble in his gait. Swift. [1913 Webster] 2. Same as {Hopple}. [1913 Webster] 3. Difficulty; perplexity; embarrassment. Waterton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hobble — [v1] limp clump, dodder, falter, halt, hitch, scuff, shuffle, stagger, stumble, totter; concept 151 Ant. go, move, run, walk hobble [v2] cripple, restrict clog, cramp, cramp one’s style, crimp, curb, entrammel, fasten, fetter, gimp, hamper,… …   New thesaurus

  • hobble — [häb′əl] vi. hobbled, hobbling [ME hobelen (akin to Du hobbelen, Ger dial. hobbeln) < base of hoppen (see HOP1) + freq. suffix] 1. to go unsteadily, haltingly, etc. 2. to walk lamely or awkwardly; limp vt. 1. to cause to go haltingly or …   English World dictionary

  • Hobble — Hob ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Hobbled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Hobbling}.] [OE. hobelen, hoblen, freq. of hoppen to hop; akin to D. hobbelen, hoblen, hoppeln. See {Hop} to jump, and cf. {Hopple} ] 1. To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hobble — Hob ble, v. t. 1. To fetter by tying the legs; to hopple; to clog. They hobbled their horses. Dickens [1913 Webster] 2. To perplex; to embarrass. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hobble — index block, maim, repress, restrict, trammel Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • hobble — ► VERB 1) walk awkwardly, typically because of pain. 2) strap together the legs of (a horse) to prevent it straying. 3) be or cause a problem for. ► NOUN 1) an awkward way of walking. 2) a rope or strap for hobbling a horse. DER …   English terms dictionary

  • hobble — [c]/ˈhɒbəl / (say hobuhl) verb (hobbled, hobbling) –verb (i) 1. to walk lamely; limp. 2. to proceed irregularly and haltingly: hobbling verse. –verb (t) 3. to cause to limp. 4. to fasten together the legs of (a horse, etc.) so as to prevent free… …  

  • Hobble — To hobble means to walk unevenly, in an impeded manner or to cause this condition in some other entity.Hobble may also refer to: * Hobble skirt, a skirt with a narrow enough hem to significantly impede the wearer s stride * Hobble (device), a… …   Wikipedia

  • hobble — [[t]hɒ̱b(ə)l[/t]] hobbles, hobbling, hobbled 1) VERB If you hobble, you walk in an awkward way with small steps, for example because your foot is injured. [V adv/prep] He got up slowly and hobbled over to the coffee table... The swelling had… …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”