wooden leg
11
3.8
- noun
- /ˈwʊdən lɛg/
- The actor walked confidently on stage, despite his wooden leg.
- man with a wooden leg
- one wooden leg
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Watch on YouTubeIt was a, it was a wooden leg sitting in the display case with a shoe on it.
- It was a, it was a wooden leg sitting in the display case with a shoe on it.
Examples
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This led to a booming industry in wooden legs and arms.
Academic text (2011) -
I was engaged to a girl once with a wooden leg.
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I know a man with a wooden leg named Smith.
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Long John Silver, with the wooden leg.
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I have a wooden leg.
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Uncle Jim had a wooden leg.
Fiction book (1995) -
She's got a wooden leg.
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I shall fashion for you The finest wooden leg you've ever seen.
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Strangely, his wooden leg seemed not to encumber him.
Fiction book (1997) -
When a curious crowd had gathered, the schoolmaster hopped out of the black wagon, still nimble on his wooden leg.
Fiction book (2002)
Synonyms
30
4.6
An artificial device that replaces a missing body part such as a leg
17
6.0
A thing that replaces a missing body part like a leg, tooth, or eye
6
8.1
A replacement leg fitted to help a person walk
4
7.9
An artificial limb that helps a person walk after losing one
1
8.1
A simple wooden leg that replaces a missing lower leg
How Functional
4
7.9
11
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an artificial leg made of wood' is directly and compositionally derived from 'wooden' (made of wood) + 'leg' (limb/prosthesis). This adjective+noun combination follows ordinary semantic composition and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Wooden leg comes from a simple picture: people used a carved wooden piece as a leg after they lost a leg in an accident or in war. Because of that image, like a pirate's peg, the phrase still means 'an artificial leg' today.