shamble — ► VERB ▪ move with a slow, shuffling, awkward gait. ► NOUN ▪ a shambling gait. ORIGIN probably from dialect shamble «ungainly», perhaps from shamble legs, with reference to the legs of trestle tables typical of meat markets (see SHAMBLES(Cf.… … English terms dictionary
shamble — [sham′bəl] vi. shambled, shambling [< obs. adj. shamble, in shamble legs, prob. < SHAMBLES, in obs. sense of stool, bench] to walk in a lazy or clumsy manner, barely lifting the feet; shuffle n. a shambling walk … English World dictionary
shamble — (v.) to walk with a shuffling gait, 1680s, from an adjective meaning ungainly, awkward (c.1600), from shamble (n.) table, bench (see SHAMBLES (Cf. shambles)) perhaps on the notion of the splayed legs of bench, or the way a worker sits astride it … Etymology dictionary
Shamble — Sham ble, n. [OE. schamel a bench, stool, AS. scamel, sceamol, a bench, form, stool, fr. L. scamellum, dim. of scamnum a bench, stool.] 1. (Mining) One of a succession of niches or platforms, one above another, to hold ore which is thrown… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Shamble — Sham ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Shambled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Shambling}.] [Cf. OD. schampelen to slip, schampen to slip away, escape. Cf. {Scamble}, {Scamper}.] To walk awkwardly and unsteadily, as if the knees were weak; to shuffle along. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
shamble — [17] Shamble ‘slouch’ and the noun shambles [15] are probably related. The latter originally meant ‘meat market’. It arose out of the plural of the now obsolete shamble ‘meat stall, meat table’, which represented a semantic specialization of Old… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
shamble — sham|ble [ˈʃæmbəl] v [I always + adverb/preposition] [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: shamble (of legs) curved, badly formed (16 19 centuries), probably from shamble table from which meat is sold ( SHAMBLES); probably because of the similarity to table… … Dictionary of contemporary English
shamble — intransitive verb (shambled; shambling) Etymology: shamble bowed, malformed Date: 1717 to walk awkwardly with dragging feet ; shuffle • shamble noun … New Collegiate Dictionary
shamble — verb move with a slow, shuffling, awkward gait. noun a shambling gait. Derivatives shambly adjective Origin C16: prob. from dialect shamble ungainly , perh. from the phr. shamble legs, with ref. to the legs of trestle tables (typical of meat… … English new terms dictionary
shamble — UK [ˈʃæmb(ə)l] / US verb [intransitive] Word forms shamble : present tense I/you/we/they shamble he/she/it shambles present participle shambling past tense shambled past participle shambled to walk slowly in a tired or lazy way … English dictionary
