Tuesday, April 2, 2013

gaumless

gaumless \GAWM-lis\, adjective:

lacking in vitality or intelligence; stupid, dull, or clumsy.

A little chuckle shook the Major, but he said regretfully: "Nay, I'm too gaumless."
-- Georgette Heyer, The Unknown Ajax, 1959
"Did I ever look so stupid: so 'gaumless,' as Joseph calls it?" "Worse," I replied, "because more sullen with it."
-- Emily Brontė, Wuthering Heights, 1847
Gaumless, I reckon he was. When I saw I wasn't getting any of his gasper I left him there.
-- Jeremy Gavron, The Book of Israel, 2002

A variant spelling of gormlessgaumless first appeared in English in the mid-1700s from the now-outdated British term gome. When combined with the suffice -less the word literally means "devoid of understanding."

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