LIMBER

limber, an homonymous word, having three meanings. (1) a two-wheeled carriage forming a detachable part of the equipment of all guns on travelling carriages and having on it a framework to contain ammunition boxes, and, in most cases, seats for two or three gunners. the french equivalent is _avant-train_, the ger. _protz_ (see artillery and ordnance). (2) an adjective meaning pliant or flexible and so used with reference to a person's mental or bodily qualities, quick, nimble, adroit. (3) a nautical term for the holes cut in the flooring in a ship above the keelson, to allow water to drain to the pumps. the etymology of these words is obscure. according to the _new english dictionary_ the origin of (1) is to be found in the fr. _limoniere_, a derivative of _limon_, the shaft of a vehicle, a meaning which appears in english from the 15th century but is now obsolete, except apparently among the miners of the north of england. the earlier english forms of the word are _lymor_ or _limmer_. skeat suggests that (2) is connected with "limp," which he refers to a teutonic base _lap_-, meaning to hang down. the _new english dictionary_ points out that while "limp" does not occur till the beginning of the 18th century, "limber" in this sense is found as early as the 16th. in thomas cooper's (1517?-1594) _thesaurus linguae romanae et britannicae_ (1565), it appears as the english equivalent of the latin _lentus_. a possible derivation connects it with "limb."