Category:Hobble

Hob"ble, n. i. [imp. & p. p. Hobbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Hobbling.] Etym: [OE. hobelen, hoblen, freq. of hoppen to hop; akin to D. hobbelen, hoblen, hoppeln. See Hop to jump, and cf. Hopple ]

1. To walk lame, bearing chiefly on one leg; to walk with a hitch or hop, or with crutches. The friar was hobbling the same way too. Dryden.

2. To move roughly or irregularly; -- said of style in writing. Prior. The hobbling versification, the mean diction. Jeffreys.

hobble Hob"ble, v. t.

1. To fetter by tying the legs; to hopple; to clog. " They hobbled their horses." Dickens

2. To perplex; to embarrass.

hobble Hob"ble, n.

1. An unequal gait; a limp; a halt; as, he has a hobble in his gait. Swift.

2. Same as Hopple.

3. Difficulty; perplexity; embarrassment. Waterton.