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Webster 1913 Edition


Famble

Fam′ble

,
Verb.
I.
[OE.
falmelen
; cf. SW.
famla
to grope, Dan.
famle
to grope, falter, hesitate, Icel.
fālma
to grope. Cf.
Famble
.]
To stammer.
[Obs.]
Nares.

Fam′ble

,
Noun.
[Cf.
Famble
,
Verb.
]
A hand.
[Slang & Obs.]
“We clap our fambles.”
Beau. & Fl.

Definition 2024


famble

famble

English

Noun

famble (plural fambles)

  1. (obsolete, slang) A hand.
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      We clap our fambles.
    • Georgette Heyer, The Quiet Gentleman
      A Bow Street Runner says "I knew a cove as talked the way you do – leastways, in the way of business I knew him! In fact, you remind me of him very strong [] He was on the dub-lay, and very clever with his fambles. He ended up in the Whit, o’ course."

Etymology 2

Old English falmelen

Verb

famble (third-person singular simple present fambles, present participle fambling, simple past and past participle fambled)

  1. (obsolete) To stammer.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Nares to this entry?)


Krio

Etymology

English fambly

Noun

famble

  1. A family.
    • 1995, Masée Touré, Bai Bureh's Countrymen, ISBN 0-85756-189-9, page 12:
      Pa Gasama spoke in Krio, a language that was common to all; 'Famble den who na kushe oh'.
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