Etymology
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From Middle English hobblen , hobelen , akin to Middle Dutch hoblen , hobbelen (Modern Dutch hobbelen ).
Pronunciation
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IPA (key ) : /ˈhɒbəl/
Audio (Southern England) (file )
Hyphenation: hob‧ble
Rhymes: -ɒbəl
hobble (plural hobbles )
( chiefly in the plural ) One of the short straps tied between the legs of unfenced horses, allowing them to wander short distances but preventing them from running off.
An unsteady, off-balance step.
2017 , Sam Shepard , chapter 37, in Spy of the First Person , →ISBN , page 82 :We made it and we hobbled up the stairs. Or I hobbled. My sons didn't hobble , I hobbled.
( archaic , informal ) A difficult situation; a scrape .
1845 , Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The Cock and Anchor :"Saddle a horse—any horse—only let him be sure and fleet," cried Ashwoode, "and I'll pay you his price thrice over!" "Well, it's a bargain," replied the groom, promptly; "I don't like to see a gentleman caught in a hobble , if I can help him out of it. [ …]
( dialect , UK and Newfoundland ) An odd job ; a piece of casual work.
Synonyms
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Translations
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Short straps tied between the legs of unfenced horses
Arabic: شِكَال m ( šikāl ) , عِقَال (ar) m ( ʕiqāl )
Moroccan Arabic: شكال m ( škāl )
Armenian: ոտնակապ (hy) ( otnakap ) , ոտկապ (hy) ( otkap ) , չիդար (hy) ( čʻidar ) ( dialectal ) , թշու ( tʻšu ) ( dialectal ) , քեստաղ ( kʻestaġ ) ( dialectal )
Old Armenian: ճախանոց ( čaxanocʻ )
Avar: читӏир ( čitʼir )
Azerbaijani: çidar , cidar , buxov , tuşağ ( dialectal )
Bashkir: тышау ( tışaw )
Basque: peya
Bulgarian: букаи́ f pl ( bukaí )
Buryat: тушаа ( tušaa )
Crimean Tatar: tırşav
Czech: řemen (cs) m
Danish: fodreb n
Dargwa: чедир ( čedir )
Finnish: kammitsa (fi)
French: entrave (fr) f , abot (fr) m
Galician: péga , pexa , solta f , cadarme m
Georgian: ფარმანდი ( parmandi ) ( dialectal ) , დუშაყი (ka) ( dušaq̇i )
German: Fußfessel (de) f , Spannstrick m
Greek: πέδικλο (el) n ( pédiklo )
Italian: pastoia (it) f , ceppi (it) m pl , lacci (it) m pl
Kalmyk: туша ( tuşa ) , чөдр ( çödr )
Kazakh: тұсау ( tūsau )
Kyrgyz: тушоо (ky) ( tuşoo ) , өрөө (ky) ( öröö )
Lak: чидар ( čidar )
Latin: pedica f
Macedonian: со́пка f ( sópka )
Maori: herehere waewae
Mongolian: чөдөр (mn) ( čödör ) , тушаа (mn) ( tušaa )
Northern Altai : тужак ( tužak ) (for horse)
Ottoman Turkish: بوقاغی ( bukağı ) , كوستك ( köstek )
Persian: اشکیل (fa) ( eškil )
Polish: pęta (pl) n pl
Russian: трено́га (ru) f ( trenóga ) , пу́ты (ru) f pl ( púty )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: не̏гве f pl , gen. не̏га̄ва̄ and не̏га̄вӣ ; шкло̏це f pl , gen. шкло̑ца̄ ; бука̀гије f pl
Latin: nȅgve (sh) f pl , gen. nȅgāvā and nȅgāvī ; šklȍce f pl , gen. šklȏcā ; bukàgije (sh) f pl
Southern Altai: тужак ( tužak ) , тужу ( tužu )
Spanish: manea (es) f , suelta (es) f , atadura f
Tatar:
Cyrillic: тышау (tt) ( tışaw )
Latin: tışaw
Turkish: bukağı (tr) , köstek (tr)
Turkmen: душак
Ukrainian: пута n pl ( puta )
Uyghur: өрə ( örə )
Uzbek: тушов ( tushov )
Walloon: epîtoe (wa) m
An unsteady, off-balance step
A horse hobbled for veterinary purposes.
hobble (third-person singular simple present hobbles , present participle hobbling , simple past and past participle hobbled )
To fetter by tying the legs; to restrict (a horse) with hobbles .
1865 , Charles Dickens , Doctor Marigold :you hobble your old horse and turn him grazing
To walk lame , or unevenly.
1681 , John Dryden , The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. [ … ] , London: [ … ] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson , [ … ] , →OCLC , (please specify the page number) :The friar was hobbling the same way too.
( figurative ) To move roughly or irregularly.
To perplex ; to embarrass .
Synonyms
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Translations
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To restrict a horse with hobbles
To walk unevenly
Bashkir: аҡһау ( aqhaw ) , сатанлау ( satanlaw ) /сатандау ( satandaw )
Bulgarian: куцам (bg) ( kucam )
Czech: belhat se , kulhat (cs) impf , pajdat impf
Danish: humpe , halte
Finnish: ontua (fi) , nilkuttaa (fi)
French: boiter (fr)
Macedonian: ку́ца ( kúca ) , кри́ви ( krívi )
Maori: totitoti , kokekoke
Polish: kuśtykać (pl) impf , pokuśtykać pf , przykuśtykać pf , kuleć (pl) impf
Quechua: hank'ay
Russian: ковыля́ть (ru) ( kovyljátʹ ) , хрома́ть (ru) ( xromátʹ ) ( limp )
Turkish: aksamak (tr)
Ukrainian: кульгати ( kulʹhaty ) , шкандиба́ти ( škandybáty ) , шкутильгати ( škutylʹhaty )
Zazaki: lengen
Derived terms
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Anagrams
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