Etymology

limb

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Today it means: A major appendage of human or animal, used for locomotion (such as an arm, leg or wing). Full definition →

Middle English lyme ← Old English lim ← Proto-West Germanic *limu
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limb · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*limuz“branch, limb”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*limu
  3. Old English · inherited fromlim“limb, branch”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromlyme
  5. English todaylimb

From Middle English lyme, lim, from Old English lim (“limb, branch”), from Proto-West Germanic *limu, from Proto-Germanic *limuz (“branch, limb”). Cognate with Old Norse limr (“limb”). The spelling with the silent unetymological -b first arose in the late 1500s. Compare crumb.

limb · noun2

  1. Latin · derived fromlimbus“border”
  2. English todaylimb

From Latin limbus (“border”).

Limb · proper noun3

Variant of Lum.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishlyme all →

lime

Old Englishlim all →

lime

Latinlimbus all →

limbiclimbus

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.