Hambles

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Cuts the tendons behind the leg of an animal so that it can no longer walk or stand properly
2. Disables a creature by severing the sinews at the back of its leg, leaving it crippled
3. Maims an animal by slashing the hamstring tendons so that it becomes lame

Etymology: "Hambles" is the third-person singular form of "hamble," a verb meaning to hamstring or mutilate, and it traces back to a very old Germanic root for cutting an animal's legs or maiming it. The English verb descends from Middle English "hamlen" or "hamelen," which came from Old English "hamelian," meaning to hamstring or mutilate. Behind that lies a Proto-Germanic verb "hamalōną," meaning to mutilate, which is linked to the Proto-Indo-European root "kem-," used of things that were mutilated or hornless. The word's cousins across Germanic languages keep the sense of harming animals, especially by castration. German has "hammeln" and "hämmeln," meaning to geld, Icelandic has "hamla," meaning to maim, and Dutch has "hamel," a castrated wether, or ram. The pattern shows that the verb once belonged mainly to livestock management, where mutilating an animal was a practical act rather than a figure of speech.

Synonyms: hamstring, maim, cripple