Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Astronomy The circumferential edge of the apparent disk of a celestial body.
- noun Mathematics The edge of a graduated arc or circle used in an instrument to measure angles.
- noun Botany The expanded tip of a plant organ, such as a petal or corolla lobe.
- noun One of the larger branches of a tree.
- noun One of the jointed appendages of an animal, such as an arm, leg, wing, or flipper, used for locomotion or grasping.
- noun An extension or a projecting part, as of a building or mountain range.
- noun An extension or part distinguished from the main body or group.
- noun A member or representative of a group.
- noun Archaic An impish child.
- transitive verb To remove the branches from.
- idiom ((out) on a limb) In a difficult, awkward, or vulnerable position.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To supply with limbs.
- To dismember; tear or carve off the limbs of: as, to
limb a turkey; to limb a tree. - noun In botany:
- noun The blade or broad part of a leaf.
- noun In geology, that portion of an anticline or syncline which lies on either side respectively of the arch or trough. Also called
leg and flank. - noun A part or member of an animal body distinct from the head and trunk; an appendicular member; a leg, an arm, or a wing: often limited in meaning to the leg, at present general out of affected or prudish unwillingness to use the word leg.
- noun The branch of a tree: applied only to a branch of some size, and not to a small twig.
- noun The part of a bow above or below the grip or handle.
- noun A thing or person regarded as a part of something else; a part; a member: as, a limb of the devil; a limb of the law.
- noun A mischievous or roguish person, especially a young person; an imp; a scapegrace; a scamp.
- noun Synonyms See
member . - noun In astronomy, the border or outermost edge of the disk of the sun or moon.
- noun The graduated edge of a circle or other astronomical or surveying instrument, etc.
- noun In zoology, the lateral area or marginal band of the cephalic shield of trilobites on either side of the glabellum, corresponding to a pleuron of the thoracic region.
- noun In botany, the border or upper spreading part of a monopetalous corolla, or of a petal or sepal.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A part of a tree which extends from the trunk and separates into branches and twigs; a large branch.
- noun An arm or a leg of a human being; a leg, arm, or wing of an animal.
- noun A thing or person regarded as a part or member of, or attachment to, something else.
- noun An elementary piece of the mechanism of a lock.
- noun [Colloq.] a lawyer or an officer of the law.
- transitive verb rare To supply with limbs.
- transitive verb To dismember; to tear off the limbs of.
- noun (Bot.) The border or upper spreading part of a monopetalous corolla, or of a petal, or sepal; blade.
- noun (Astron.) The border or edge of the disk of a heavenly body, especially of the sun and moon.
- noun The graduated margin of an arc or circle, in an instrument for measuring angles.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A major
appendage of human or animal, used forlocomotion (such as anarm ,leg orwing ) - noun A
branch of a tree. - noun archery The part of the
bow , from thehandle to the tip. - noun botany The
border or upper spreading part of amonopetalous corolla , or of apetal orsepal ;blade . - noun astronomy The border or edge of the
disk of aheavenly body , especially of thesun ormoon . - noun The
graduated margin of anarc orcircle in aninstrument for measuringangles . - verb To
remove the limbs from an animal or tree. - noun astronomy The
apparent visual edge of acelestial body . - noun on a measuring instrument The
graduated edge of acircle orarc .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (astronomy) the circumferential edge of the apparent disc of the sun or the moon or a planet
- noun any projection that is thought to resemble a human arm
- noun any of the main branches arising from the trunk or a bough of a tree
- noun the graduated arc that is attached to an instrument for measuring angles
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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All this could Carlo do — make, unmake me; and join me limb to limb .
Melville in Love Hardwick, Elizabeth 2000
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But if the limb is nominally functional, then I really have to say that I question the logic behind its removal.
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You think your phantom limb is bad, check out my phantom erection!
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You think your phantom limb is bad, check out my phantom erection!
Angie Zapata murder trial – Wednesday April 22 – Now we wait for the verdict 2009
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You think your phantom limb is bad, check out my phantom erection!
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Both bones below his knee are broken, and the limb is bent unnaturally inward.
Military medics combine ultramodern and time-honored methods to save lives on the battlefield David Brown 2010
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Both bones below his knee are broken, and the limb is bent unnaturally inward.
The front lines of saving lives David Brown 2010
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You think your phantom limb is bad, check out my phantom erection!
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Both bones below his knee are broken, and the limb is bent unnaturally inward.
Military medics combine ultramodern and time-honored methods to save lives on the battlefield David Brown 2010
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You think your phantom limb is bad, check out my phantom erection!
Yet another trans 101, in which Helen tells cis people What’s What 2009
bilby commented on the word limb
Be like the bird, who
Halting in his flight
On limb too slight
Feels it give way beneath him,
Yet sings
Knowing he hath wings.
- Victor Hugo, 'Be Like The Bird'.
November 17, 2008
hernesheir commented on the word limb
In palynology, a synonym of equatorial outline.
Wodehouse, R.P., 1935. Pollen grains. Their structure, identification and significance in science and medicine. McGraw-Hill, New York, 574 pp.
December 14, 2010
alexz commented on the word limb
In NASAspeak, it includes the atmosphere in the disk of an object.
"Some of the most breathtaking views of Earth taken from space are those that capture our planet’s limb. When viewed from the side, the Earth looks like a flat circle, and the atmosphere appears like a halo around it. This edge of the atmosphere is known as the limb. Viewed from satellites, space shuttles, and even the moon, the image of this luminous envelope of gases shielding the life on our planet from the dark, cold space beyond rarely fails to fascinate us." - NASA visible earth.
August 25, 2017