different between nimber vs limber

English

Etymology

Blend of nim +? number

Noun

nimber (plural nimbers)

1. Any of a set of number-like objects used in combinatorial game theory.

Synonyms

• Grundy number

French

Etymology

nimbe +? -er

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??.be/

Verb

nimber

1. (transitive) to surround with a halo or nimbus
   • 1976, Bernard Clavel, La saison des loups, 1985, page 105

     Le ciel était clair et la lune à peine nimbée

Conjugation

Further reading

• “nimber” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?mb?(?)/

Etymology 1

Unknown; possibly related to limb or limp.

Adjective

limber (comparative limberer, superlative limberest)

1. Flexible, pliant, bendable.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

limber (third-person singular simple present limbers, present participle limbering, simple past and past participle limbered)

1. To cause to become limber; to make flexible or pliant.

Translations

Etymology 2

For the obsolete limmer, from Old Norse limar (“branches”), plural of lim.

Noun

limber (plural limbers)

1. (military) A two-wheeled vehicle to which a wheeled artillery piece or caisson may be attached for transport.
   • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber 2003, p. 29:

     we covered the rutted, rattling, dusty pot-holed roads of coastal Victoria, six big Walers in front, the cannon at the rear, and that unsprung cart they called a ‘limber’ in the middle.

2. (in the plural) The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage.
3. (nautical, in the plural) Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to allow water to pass to the pump well.

Usage notes

• Sometimes the plural limbers was used to refer to a single such vehicle.

Translations

Verb

limber (third-person singular simple present limbers, present participle limbering, simple past and past participle limbered)

1. (obsolete) To prepare an artillery piece for transportation (i.e., to attach it to its limber.)

Antonyms

• unlimber

Translations

See also

• caisson

Further reading

• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
• limber on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• limbers and caissons on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Limbers on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• limber at OneLook Dictionary Search
• limber in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References