limb

v. t. 1. To supply with limbs. [ R. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To dismember; to tear off the limbs of. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. lim, AS. lim; akin to Icel. limr limb, lim branch of a tree, Sw. & Dan. lem limb; cf. also AS. lið, OHG. lid, gilid, G. glied, Goth. liþus. Cf. Lith, Limber. ] 1. A part of a tree which extends from the trunk and separates into branches and twigs; a large branch. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An arm or a leg of a human being; a leg, arm, or wing of an animal. [ 1913 Webster ]

A second Hector for his grim aspect,
And large proportion of his strong-knit limbs. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A thing or person regarded as a part or member of, or attachment to, something else. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

That little limb of the devil has cheated the gallows. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. An elementary piece of the mechanism of a lock. [ 1913 Webster ]

Limb of the law, a lawyer or an officer of the law. [ Colloq. ] Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] A cooling periodical wind in the Isle of Cyprus, blowing from the northwest from eight o'clock, A. M., to the middle of the day or later. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. limbatus, fr. limbus border, edge. See Limbus. ] (Bot. & Zool.) Bordered, as when one color is surrounded by an edging of another. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To distill. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Abbrev. of alembic. ] An alembic; a still. [ Obs. ] Spenser. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having limbs; -- much used in composition; as, large-limbed; short-limbed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms,
Limbed and full grown. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For limmer, Icel. limar branches, boughs, pl. of lim; akin to E. limb. See Limb a branch. ] 1. pl. The shafts or thills of a wagon or carriage. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) The detachable fore part of a gun carriage, consisting of two wheels, an axle, and a shaft to which the horses are attached. On top is an ammunition box upon which the cannoneers sit. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. (Naut.) Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to afford a passage for water to the pump well. [ 1913 Webster ]

Limber boards (Naut.), short pieces of plank forming part of the lining of a ship's floor immediately above the timbers, so as to prevent the limbers from becoming clogged. --
Limber box or
Limber chest (Mil.), a box on the limber for carrying ammunition. --
Limber rope,
Limber chain or
Limber clearer (Naut.), a rope or chain passing through the limbers of a ship, by which they may be cleared of dirt that chokes them. Totten. --
Limber strake (Shipbuilding), the first course of inside planking next the keelson. [ 1913 Webster ]