hamble
/ˈhæm.bəl/verb
hamble is spelled H-A-M-B-L-E: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, hamble means “To cut out the balls of the feet of (dogs) so as to render them unfit for hunting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hamble?
| Letters | 6: H-A-M-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 128,787th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hamble?
Hamble appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 128,787th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hamble?
- /ˈhæm.bəl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hamble.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hamble
- hambles present, singular, he/she/it
- hambling participle, present
- hambled participle, past
- hammel
- hamel
- hammle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hamble mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo mutilate; hamstring; cut away.
- 2
To cut out the balls of the feet of (dogs) so as to render them unfit for hunting.
- 3
To walk lame; limp.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does hamble come from?
From Middle English hamlen, hamelen, from Old English hamelian (“to hamstring, mutilate”), from Proto-West Germanic *hamalōn, from Proto-Germanic *hamalōną (“to mutilate”), from Proto-Indo-European *kem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Cognate with German hammeln, hämmeln (“to geld”), Icelandic hamla (“to mutilate, maim”), Dutch hamel (“wether, castrated ram”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).