limp: English has two words limp, which perhaps share a common ancestry. Neither is particularly old. The verb first crops up in the 16th century (until then the word for ‘walk lamely’ had been halt, which now survives, barely, as an adjective). It was probably adapted from the now obsolete adjective limphalt ‘lame’, a descendant of Old English lemphealt (which goes back ultimately to Indo-European *lomb-). The adjective limp is first recorded in the 18th century, and in view of the common meaning element ‘lack of firmness, infirmity’ it seems likely that it is related to the verb.
limp (v.)
1560s, of unknown origin, perhaps related to Middle English lympen "to fall short" (c. 1400), which is probably from Old English lemphealt "halting, lame, limping," which has a lone cognate in the rare Middle High German limphin, and perhaps is from a PIE root meaning "slack, loose, to hang down" (cognates: Sanskrit lambate "hangs down," Middle High German lampen "to hang down"). Related: Limped; limping. As a noun, 1818, from the verb.
limp (adj.)
1706, "flaccid, drooping," of obscure origin, perhaps related to limp (v.).
双语例句
1. A stiff knee following surgery forced her to walk with a limp.
手术后她的膝盖活动不便，走路时被迫跛行。
来自柯林斯例句
2. He hit his head against a rock and went limp.
他的头撞到一块岩石上，身子软了下来。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She was told to reject applicants with limp handshakes.
她被告知要回绝掉那些握手软弱无力的申请者。
来自柯林斯例句
4. His arms were limp at his sides.
他的双臂无力地垂在身体两侧。
来自柯林斯例句
5. His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground.
