Hobbled

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hobble \Hob"ble\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Hobbled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Hobbling}.] [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.


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              The friar was hobbling the same way too. --Dryden.
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     2. To move roughly or irregularly; -- said of style in
        writing. --Prior.
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              The hobbling versification, the mean diction.
                                                    --Jeffreys.
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