limp [LME] Limp meaning ‘walk unevenly or with difficulty’ was originally used with the sense ‘fall short of’: it is related to obsolete limphalt ‘lame’, and is probably of Germanic origin. Use of the word in nautical, aviation, and other transport contexts such as limp into port, limped over the airfield is found from the 1920s. Limp in the sense ‘lacking firmness’ dates from the early 18th century. It may be related to the other limp, but its origin is uncertain.