Hambling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by people such as the British sculptor and painter Maggi Hambling
2. An English surname carried by a number of individuals, most famously the artist Maggi Hambling known for public sculpture
3. A surname of English origin, associated with figures like the sculptor Maggi Hambling whose work includes the Scallop on Aldeburgh beach

Etymology: "Hambling" is the present participle and gerund of "hamble," a verb meaning to hamstring or mutilate. Its ancestor, Old English "hamelian," meant to hamstring, cutting the tendons behind an animal's leg so it could no longer walk properly. The same stem gave Middle English "hamlen" and "hamelen," and it reaches back to a Proto-Germanic verb meaning "to mutilate." The verb's cousins in other Germanic languages show where its sense was headed. German "hammeln" and "hämmeln" mean to geld, Icelandic "hamla" means to maim, and Dutch "hamel" names a castrated wether, a ram that has been gelded. Across these languages the core idea stays the same: disabling or emasculating an animal, usually a male one, so that it becomes docile and easier to handle.

Synonyms: maiming, hamstringing, crippling