different between fimble vs famble

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?mb?l/

Etymology 1

From a dialectal variant of fumble.

Verb

fimble (third-person singular simple present fimbles, present participle fimbling, simple past and past participle fimbled)

1. (intransitive, dialectal) To fumble; do (anything) imperfectly or irresolutely.

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch femele, fimele (“cannabis brevior”), from fimelen (“to tease: flax, hemp, wool, etc.; to move quickly, fiddle, play, trifle”) (whence Dutch fijmelen, femelen), related to Middle Low German fimmelen, fimmeren (“to grope about”), German fimmeln (“to grope; fumble”), West Frisian fimelje (“to pick; fiddle' trifle”), English fimble (“to fumble”). Alternatively, it is sometimes suggested that Middle Dutch femele is from French (chanvre) femelle (“female (hemp)”), which was applied to the male hemp plant as it is smaller and was therefore believed to be female; this would parallel the old designation of the larger, female plant as carl-hemp (“man-hemp”).

Noun

fimble (plural fimbles)

1. The male hemp plant.

Alternative forms

• femble

Further reading

• “FEMBLE” in Joseph Wright, editor, The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume II (D–G), London: Published by Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1900, ?OCLC.

Anagrams

• befilm, libfem

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fæmb?l/
• Rhymes: -æmb?l

Etymology 1

Possibly related to fumble.

Noun

famble (plural fambles)

1. (obsolete, slang) A hand.

   • We clap our fambles.

   • 1951, Georgette Heyer, The Quiet Gentleman

     A Bow Street Runner says "I knew a cove as talked the way you do – leastways, in the way of business I knew him! In fact, you remind me of him very strong […] He was on the dub-lay, and very clever with his fambles. He ended up in the Whit, o’ course."

Etymology 2

From Old English falmelen.

Verb

famble (third-person singular simple present fambles, present participle fambling, simple past and past participle fambled)

1. (obsolete) To stammer.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Nares to this entry?)

Anagrams

• flambe, flambé

Krio

Noun

famble

1. Alternative form of fambul