extremities

Noun

extremity (countable and uncountable, plural extremities or (obsolete) extremitys)

1. The most extreme or furthest point of something.
   • [B]eſtowe your love on him, who, were it not to do you ſervice, would through the extremitie of love rather wiſh to die then live.1576, George Whetstone, “The Castle of Delight: […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, […], London: […] [H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of...

   Synonyms:

   tip

2. An extreme measure.
   • The Fort on the Mount St. Catherine after a Month's Siege was reduc'd to ſuch Extremitys, that they who defended it were forc'd to treat about a Surrender: and Aug. 29. 'twas agreed between the Engliſh Commiſſioners, Edward Earl of Mortaigne, Thomas Earl of Salisbury, and Fitz-Hugh, and the French...1704, [Thomas Goodwin the younger], The History of the Reign of Henry the Fifth, King of England, &c. In Nine Books, London: Printed by J. D. for S. and J. Sprint, J. Robinson, J. Taylor, Andr[ew]...
3. A hand or foot.
   • Guillain–Barré syndrome causes one to not be able to move one’s extremities.
4. A limb (“major appendage of a human or animal such as an arm, leg, or wing”).
   • The danger of wounds of the extremities consists in the injury done to the blood-vessels, nerves, articulations, and bones.1878, D[avid] Hayes Agnew, “Wounds of the Extremities”, in The Principles and Practice of Surgery, being a Treatise on Surgical Diseases and Injuries, volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.; London: J. B....

   Synonyms:

   appendage, limb