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READ THIS
Dictionaries provide an alphabetic listing of words, together with their meanings, idiomatic meanings, parts
of speech, pronunciation, etymology, as well as other related words.
STUDY THE FOLLOWING FIRST:
hobble
ho' bble v. 1.
v.i. walk lamely, limp; (fig.) proceed haltingly in action or speech. 2. v.t. cause to hobble; tie
together legs of horse etc., to prevent it from straying etc; tie (legs) thus. [M.E. prob. f. LG ; cf. HOBBLE,
and Du. hobbelen rock from side to side]
Adapted from The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 1983.
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1. At the top of the page you will find GUIDE WORDS enabling you to see at a glance which are the first
and last entries on that page.
2. Each entry begins with a HEADWORD written in bold. The PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION is supplied,
sometimes as part of this headword, at other times provided separately. EMPHASIS is indicated by a
stroke immediately after the syllable that is to be stressed.
3. The entry also indicates what PART OF SPEECH the word is, i.e. noun, adjective, verb, adverb, etc.
Usually this is shown in abbreviated form, e.g. n. (noun), v.t. (verb transitive), v.i. (verb intransitive), etc.
4. The entry explains the MEANING of the word, often giving several different meanings.
5. The entry might also supply the FIGURATIVE MEANING of the word, or explain the meaning of
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS in which the word in question is used.
6. The entry usually provides the ETYMOLOGY or language of origin of the word in question.
Abbreviations are usually used: F. or Fr. (French); Gr. or Gk (Greek); OE (Old English); ME (Middle
English); G. (German); L. (Latin). Sometimes the gender of the original word is also provided, e.g. F.
f. means that the original word was French and was feminine.
7. Some dictionaries place the word in its CONTEXT, usually within a phrase.
8. Other abbreviations are sometimes used to provide extra information, e.g. sl. (slang), dial. (dialect),
coll. (colloquial), arch. (archaic), etc.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
Study the example in the column opposite.
List the "First Word" on the page. (1)
[Need help?]
In the example opposite, "hobble" is the first word.
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Where does the word "hobble" have its emphasis? (1)
[Need help?]
The word "hobble" has its emphasis on the first syllable.
Note that each dictionary has its own way of showing pronunciation. You need to refer to the front of your
own dictionary for its abbreviations, phonetic pronunciation, etc.
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What part of speech is the word "hobble"? (1)
[Need help?]
"Hobble" is a verb.
The entry then explains that it can be an intransitive verb or a transitive verb. Examples of each are given.
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What type of verb is the word "hobble"? (1)
[Need help?]
"Hobble" is an intransitive verb.
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What is the meaning of the word "hobble"? (2)
[Need help?]
"Hobble" means "walk lamely" or "limp".
As a transitive verb it means "cause to hobble" and "tying the legs (of a horse)".
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What is the figurative meaning of "hobble"? (1)
[Need help?]
The figurative meaning of the word "hobble" is "to proceed haltingly in action or in speech".
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What is the etymology of the word "hobble"? (3)
[Need help?]
"Hobble" has several possible languages of origin: Middle English (where it was probably
feminine), Lower German and Dutch.
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