wimblen.
/ˈwɪmbl/, U.S. /ˈwɪmb(ə)l/ Now dialect or technical.
1.
a. A gimlet.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > auger or gimlet
augereOE
wimble1295
wimble?1362
gimletc1420
tarrierc1460
borel1488
wimbrekin1489
screw1577
nail piercer1584
worm1594
nail-passer1662
wimblet1670
1295 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer (P.R.O.: E101/5/8) m. 4 Et iiij. d. ob. in Wymbles emptis.
1296 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer 5/20 m. 5 In tribus Gymblis ferri emptis..vj. d.]
c1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 170 Terere [gloss wymble (nauger)].
1411 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1883) II. 86 j. parvum wymble, j d.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. xi. 85 Vnto the pith a ffrensh wymbul inbore.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 528/2 Wymbyl, or persowre, terebellum.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. iv. f. 109v So eaten with woormes, as though they had byn bored through with wimbles.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 107v The haftes and handles of Wymbles and Augurs.
1636 D. Featley Clavis Mystica xxix. 377 As the wimble bores a hole for the auger.
1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 222 The little Wimble once entred, the Workman can then drive a great Nail.
1789 G. White Let. in Nat. Hist. Selborne 275 The second [field-mouse] nibbles a hole with his teeth, so regular as if drilled with a wimble.
b. transferred and figurative.
ΚΠ
a1633 G. Herbert Outlandish Prov. (1640) sig. E Gifts enter every where without a wimble.
1719 in T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth IV. 81 Joan 's a Piece for a Man to bore, With his Wimble.
1781 J. Barbut Les Genres des Insectes de Linné 287 The Gad-fly... From the hinder part of their body, issues a whimble of wonderful structure.
1805 P. Wakefield Domest. Recreat. iv. 62 The whimble is of an admirable structure, and consists of three pieces:..It is the most easily seen in the long whimbled fly.
2. An auger; also, a brace.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > auger or gimlet
augereOE
wimble1295
wimble?1362
gimletc1420
tarrierc1460
borel1488
wimbrekin1489
screw1577
nail piercer1584
worm1594
nail-passer1662
wimblet1670
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > drill > brace
wimble?1362
brace1567
bit-brace1881
wheel brace1920
brace-drill-
?1362 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1899) II. 565 Will'o Couper ad reparacionem duorum Wymbles, quia fracta in opere Prioris, 12d.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes ii. xxxix. L ij Men..with grete wymellis and awgours shal perce the ship undreneth.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxijv/1 Perce ye tree thorugh wyth a percer Crosse wyse or wyth a wymble.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 14v Cart, ladder & wimble, with percer & pod.
1583 J. Jewel Serm. at Paul's Cross D j b That part of the Carpenters wimble, which turneth about, goeth rounde, and by litle and litle draweth in the iron, or steele bit.
1621 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) II. 248 P'd for layinge 3 wimbles, vjd.
1625 G. Markham Farewell to Husb. (1638) ii. vi. 32 A great Augure or wimble of Iron made to receive many bits one longer than another.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iii. 53 The other end of the Shank must be fitted into the square Socket of the Wimble.
1789 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) 1 38 Hinges, Wimble, and Jack for Ship-Builders.
1824 W. Carr Horæ Momenta Cravenæ Wummle, an auger, a wimble.
3. An instrument for boring in soft ground, or for extracting rubbish from a bore-hole in mining.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > tool for extracting objects from borehole
wimble1693
fishing tool1886
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > boring tool > for boring in the ground
auger1532
borer1572
boring-rod?1677
wimble1693
well borer1780
rock drill1836
miser1842
bore-rod1849
header1863
well drill1866
rig1875
well rig1875
trepan1877
broaching-bit1881
heading machine1897
1693 J. Ray Three Physico-theol. Disc. (ed. 2) i. iii. 41 They bore this Earth or Soil with a long Wimble.
1708 J. C. Compl. Collier 2 in T. Nourse Mistery of Husbandry Discover'd (ed. 3) [He] puts, or screws on the Wimble or Scoop which takes up the cut Stuff.
1789 J. Brand Hist. & Antiq. Newcastle II. 678 The chisel is screwed off [the boring rod], and the wimple or scoop put on.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 191 Wimble, a shell-auger used for boring in soft ground.
4. Also wimbel, dialect wimbrel. An implement for twisting together strands (esp. of straw) to make rope for tying up hay-trusses, fleeces, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > rope-making equipment > [noun] > other rope-making equipment
warping-tree1404
throw-crook1557
warping-stock1588
spun-yarn winch1627
winch1640
woolder1750
register1793
top minor1793
laying-top1794
warping-block1794
whirl1794
reel1797
warping-post1797
whirl-hook1797
strand-hook1825
spreader1830
register plate1832
wimble1863
snugger1875
strop1875
1863 J. R. Wise New Forest 288/1 Wimble, an instrument with which to take up faggots or trusses of hay.
1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxii. 243 Gathering up the fleeces and twisting ropes of wool with a wimble for tying them round.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge I. i. 2 A rush basket, from which protruded at one end the crutch of a hay-knife, a wimble for hay-bonds being also visible.
1939 D. Hartley Made in Eng. ii. 76 There are other types [of implement], such as the wimbrel, rather like the spindle of a spinning wheel in principle.
1969 E. H. Pinto Treen 97 Wimbels are essentially cranked devices for twisting ropes out of straw, formerly required for binding corn stooks... Other country names for them include wimbrels, straw twisters, [etc.].
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
wimble-bit n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > auger or gimlet > boring part
screw1577
wimble-bit1583
wimble-cock1607
nose bit1794
1583 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 9 For towe broste wyemblye bittes and a nale percell bitte, ijd.
1628 in Acct. Bk. Kentish Estate 1616–1704 (1927) 102 For 5 wimble bitts.
wimble-bore n.
ΚΠ
13.. Childh. Jesus 411 in Archiv neu. Spr. LXXIV. 332 With his fyngere he plukede hym owte Att a full littille wymbilles bore.]
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Wimblebore, a hole in the throat, which prevents one from speaking distinctly, S. in allusion to a hole bored by a wimble.
wimble-hole n.
ΚΠ
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 215/1 Foramen rotundum,..a wimble hole.
1613 G. Markham Eng. Husbandman: 1st Pt. i. iv. 14 Take a board..which shalbe bored full of large wimble holes.
1683 J. Reid Scots Gard'ner (1907) 88 Bore them [sc. wooden cases] full of auger or wimble-holes.
wimble-like adj.
ΚΠ
1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. viii. 333 Margaret pressed herself into the porch; wimble-like, she pierced the stacks of men and women that filled the hall.
wimble-stock n.
ΚΠ
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xvi. xliii. 493 [Wood] excellent good for awgre-handles and wimble-stocks.
1648–9 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 219 A wymble stock and Nayles 1s. 4d.
C2. † wimble-cock n. Obsolete a wimble-bit.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > auger or gimlet > boring part
screw1577
wimble-bit1583
wimble-cock1607
nose bit1794
1607 B. Barnes Divils Charter iii. v. F 3 If I lye, call me thy Wimble-cock.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
wimbleadj.
/ˈwɪmbl/, U.S. /ˈwɪmb(ə)l/ dialect (and obsolete or archaic).
Active, nimble.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > qualities of bodily movement > agile or nimble
lightOE
quiverOE
yepec1275
taitc1300
yap13..
delivera1375
swippera1387
wight1390
nimblea1400
yarea1400
yerna1400
smitherc1475
leger1483
agilea1500
liver1530
lightsome1567
wimble1579
nimble jointed1591
nimble shifting1591
agilious1599
nimbling1599
nimble spirited1611
expedite1612
fitchanta1616
airy1642
fantastic1645
volant1650
clever1691
light-limbed1695
spry1746
swack1768
swank1786
yauld1787
deliverly1820
slippy1847
nippy1849
springe1859
pantherish1869
pantherine1890
flippant1895
loose1907
Tarzanesque1933
Tarzan-like1943
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Mar. 91 He was so wimble, and so wight [gloss Quicke and deliuer].
1579 E. Hake Newes out of Powles Churchyarde newly Renued i. sig. B1 I spyde a pretie wymble lad.
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida iii. sig. F2v Buckle thy spirits vp, put all thy wits In wimble action.
1614 J. Davies in W. Browne Shepheards Pipe sig. G5 Then nought can be atchieu'd with witty shewes, Sith griefe of Elde accloyen wimble wit.
1748–58 M. Mendez Sqr. Dames i. i. xxvii Man throws the wimble bait, and greedy woman bites.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > bodily movement > [adverb] > agilely or nimbly
lighteOE
lightly?a1200
wightlyc1330
deliverlya1375
swipperly?a1400
wakerly?a1400
wighta1400
yaplya1400
featlyc1400
nimblyc1450
lightsomely1561
nimble1568
wimbly1594
yarelya1616
yare1622
featilya1640
agilely1663
cleverly1686
spry1855
lissomely1902
spryly1905
cattishly1913
1594 W. Percy Sonnets to Fairest Coelia v. sig. B Vpon my foot, her tender foot alighted, With that she pluckt it off full wimbely.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
wimblev.1
/ˈwɪmbl/, U.S. /ˈwɪmb(ə)l/ Obsolete exc. dialect.
1.
a. transitive. To pierce with or as with a wimble; to make (a hole) with a wimble.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > bore, pierce, or perforate
through-shooteOE
borec1000
thirlc1000
through-boreOE
piercec1330
wimblec1440
entera1500
perforate1538
foraminate1599
terebrate1623
drilla1657
forate1657
pertund1657
perviate1657
drill1674
transforate1727
tirl1825
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 528/2 Wymbelyn, or wymmelyn, terebro.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. ix. 279 To use force first before people are fairly taught the truth, is to knock a nail into a board, without wimbling a hole for it.
a1682 T. Herbert Mem. Charles I (1702) 142 A Foot-Soldier..wimbled a hole into the Coffin that was largest.
1713 Countess of Winchilsea Misc. Poems 127 A Nutshell, wimbl'd by a Worm.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. xxiii. 232 I wimbled, next, The frame throughout.
b. transferred. (Cf. wimble n. 1b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with > specifically of a man
jape1382
overliec1400
swivec1405
foilc1440
overlay?a1475
bed1548
possess1592
knock1598
to get one's leg over1599
enjoy1602
poke1602
thrum1611
topa1616
riga1625
swingea1640
jerk1650
night-work1654
wimble1656
roger1699
ruta1706
tail1778
to touch up1785
to get into ——c1890
root1922
to knock up1934
lay1934
pump1937
prong1942
nail1948
to slip (someone) a length1949
to knock off1953
thread1958
stuff1960
tup1970
nut1971
pussy1973
service1973
1656 R. Fletcher tr. Martial Epigrams vii. lxxiv, in Ex Otio Negotium 68 Wouldst thou be wimbled gratis when thou art A wrinkled wretch deformed in every part?
c1670 in Roxburghe Ballads (1891) VII. 486 And well he could dissemble, when wenches he would wimble.
2. intransitive. To bore into; chiefly figurative (intransitive and reflexive), to penetrate or insinuate oneself into.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > go or come in [verb (intransitive)] > surreptitiously or subtly
to steal (some one or something) ina1555
shuffle1565
slink1567
to come in at (also by) the window1590
insinuate1600
wimble1605
screw1614
sneak1680
oil1925
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > introduction or bringing in > infuse [verb (reflexive)] > intrude or insinuate > of a person
ingyre1513
thrust1530
wind1548
wreathea1571
insinuate1578
screw1602
foist1603
wimble1605
wriggle1670
worm1711
1605 W. Leigh Christians Watch sig. C2 How this spirit hath entred & wimbled into your soules..I know not.
a1641 H. Spelman Reliquiæ Spelmannianæ (1698) 210 In this latter age we have wimbl'd even into the bowels of Plutus's Treasury.
1671 in J. C. Hodgson Northumbrian Documents (1918) 240 Hee would fain wimble himselfe into some employment under mee.
1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd I. iii. ii. 189 Charley..felt something like a man's finger wimbling in under his neck.
1839 New Monthly Mag. 56 61 Wimbling deeper and deeper still, till he has shattered the remains of your nerves to atoms.
3. transitive. To make (a rope) using a wimble (sense 4).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > rope-making > make rope [verb (transitive)] > other specific processes
lay1486
throw?c1625
register1793
re-lay1804
warp1815
to lay upc1860
tube1863
wimble1874
strand1886
fluff1892
1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. x. 131 ‘What have you been doing?’ ‘Tending thrashing-machine, and wimbling haybonds.’
Derivatives
ˈwimbler n. one who makes ropes with a wimble.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > maker of rope or cord > [noun] > involved in specific process
woolder1797
splicer1840
topman1853
wimbler1964
1964 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 21 Dec. The policeman asked Godfrey Booth: ‘Your occupation, sir?’ Mr. Booth..replied ‘Cag handed straw wimbler.’ Mr. Booth lives in Bobbington, Staffordshire.
ˈwimbling n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > kiss > [adjective] > (of kisses) penetrating
wimbling1623
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > [noun] > by boring, piercing, or perforating
thirling?c1225
piercingc1390
boringc1440
perforationa1500
terebration1623
wimbling1623
perfossion1695
drilling1698
pertusion1727
punching1815
pre-drilling1938
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > rope-making > [noun] > other specific processes
warping1688
self-twist1851
pointing1867
snugging1875
wimbling1964
1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. Terebration, a wimbling.
1637 N. Whiting Le Hore di Recreatione 59 We men..in our silent beds of earth will court The slender-wasted wormes, and with them sport,..and vow their wimbling busse Is full as sweet as womens was to us.
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. Y7 Those lips please me which are plac't Close, but not too strictly lac't: Yeilding I wo'd have them; yet Not a wimbling Tongue admit.
1964 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 21 Dec. Mr. Booth said: ‘When I left school I took up farming, and wimbling took second place.’
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† wimblev.2
Obsolete. rare.
To winnow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [verb (transitive)] > winnow
fanc1000
van1340
winnow1382
windle14..
wim1455
wimble1553
ventilate1609
dight?1611
eventilate1623
wind1786
wecht1804
1553 J. Withals Shorte Dict. f. 20v/2 A trey or shawlde to wynowe or wymble corne with.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online September 2020).
<
n.1295adj.1579v.1c1440
v.21553