shamble
1
[ sham-buh l ]
/ ˈʃæm bəl /
noun
shambles, (used with a singular or plural verb)
- a slaughterhouse.
- any place of carnage.
- any scene of destruction: to turn cities into shambles.
- any scene, place, or thing in disorder: Her desk is a shambles.
British Dialect.
a butcher's shop or stall.
Origin of shamble
1
before 900; Middle English
shamel, Old English
sc(e)amel stool, table < Late Latin
scamellum, Latin
scamillum, diminutive of Latin
scamnum bench; compare German
Schemel
Words nearby shamble
shaman,
shamanism,
shamash,
shamateur,
shamba,
shamble,
shambles,
shambolic,
shame,
shame on you,
shamefaced
Definition for shamble (2 of 2)
shamble
2
[ sham-buh l ]
/ ˈʃæm bəl /
verb (used without object), sham·bled, sham·bling.
to walk or go awkwardly; shuffle.
noun
a shambling gait.
Origin of shamble
2
1675–85; perhaps short for
shamble-legs one that walks wide (i.e., as if straddling), reminiscent of the legs of a
shamble1 (in earlier sense “butcher's table”)
Example sentences from the Web for shamble
British Dictionary definitions for shamble
shamble
/ (ˈʃæmbəl) /
verb
(intr)
to walk or move along in an awkward or unsteady way
noun
an awkward or unsteady walk
Derived forms of shamble
shambling, adjective, nounWord Origin for shamble
C17: from
shamble (adj) ungainly, perhaps from the phrase
shamble legs legs resembling those of a meat vendor's table; see
shambles