hamble

H4A1M3B3L1E1
/ˈhæm.bəl/

verb

To mutilate; hamstring; cut away.

OriginMiddle English hamlen ← Old English hamelian ← Proto-West Germanic *hamalōn →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

hamble1

verbhamble (third-person singular simple present hambles, present participle hambling, simple past and past participle hambled)

present singular third person hambles · participle present hambling · participle past hambled · past hambled · alternative hammel · alternative hamel · alternative hammle

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo mutilate; hamstring; cut away.
  2. transitiveTo cut out the balls of the feet of (dogs) so as to render them unfit for hunting.
  3. intransitiveTo walk lame; limp.

Hamble2

proper noun
  1. A river in Hampshire, England.
  2. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Hamble-le-Rice: a village and civil parish in Eastleigh borough, Hampshire, England.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hamble-le-rice

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kem-“mutilated, hornless”
  2. Proto-Germanic*hamalōną“to mutilate”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*hamalōn
  4. Old Englishhamelian“to hamstring, mutilate”
  5. Middle Englishhamlen
  6. Englishhamble

From Middle English hamlen, hamelen, from Old English hamelian (“to hamstring, mutilate”), from Proto-West Germanic *hamalōn, from Proto-Germanic *hamalōną (“to mutilate”), from Proto-Indo-European *kem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Cognate with German hammeln, hämmeln (“to geld”), Icelandic hamla (“to mutilate, maim”), Dutch hamel (“wether, castrated ram”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with hamble

Campbellgamblescrambleramblebrambleambleunscramblegambolshamblecramblefamblerescramble
All rhymes →

Anagrams

mahleb
Cite this entry
APA

hamble. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamble

MLA

“hamble.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamble. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hamble,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamble.

Source: hamble on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.