fumble
Englisch
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Late Middle English, from Low German fummeln, fommeln, fammeln (German fummeln),[1] or Dutch fommelen.[2]
Or, perhaps from a Scandinavian/North Germanic source; compare related Old Norse fálma, Icelandic fálma, Danish fumle, especially Swedish fumla, famla, with variants: fumbla (“fumble”), fambla (“famble”), related to Swedish fim, Swedish fem (Danish fim, Norwegian fim, feima), with a root meaning of “cover, coating of foam or figuratively ditto”, cognate to German Feim (“surf”) and English foam. Possibly has (a more or less unconscious) connection to fathom (via Old Norse faðmr, Swedish famn) in the sense of “embrace”.[1]
The ultimate origin for either could perhaps be imitative of fumbling.[3] Or, from Proto-Indo-European *pal- (“to shake, swing”), see also Latin palpo (“I pat, touch softly”), and possibly Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan (“to feel”).[4]
Verb
fumble (third-person singular simple present fumbles, present participle fumbling, simple past and past participle fumbled)
- (transitive, intransitive) To handle nervously oder awkwardly.
- Waiting for the interview, he fumbled with his tie.
- He fumbled the key into the lock.
- (transitive, intransitive) To grope awkwardly in trying to find something
- He fumbled for his keys.
- He fumbled his way to the light-switch.
- 1742, Henry Fielding, “In which the Gentleman Relates the History of His Life”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume II, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book III, page 52:
- Adams novv began to fumble in his Pockets, and ſoon cried out, O la! I have it [a sermon] not about me— […]
- (intransitive) To blunder uncertainly.
- He fumbled through his prepared speech.
- To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly.
- to fumble for an excuse
- 1711 August 12, Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, letter to Dr. Chevenix:
- My understanding stutters, and my memory fumbles.
- 1800, Wordsworth, Written in Germany on one of the coldest days of the century:
- Alas! how he fumbles about the domains.
- (transitive, intransitive, sports) To drop a ball or a baton etc. by accident.
- To handle much; to play childishly; to turn over and over.
- 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
- I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers.
- (slang, obsolete) Of a man, to sexually underperform. [16th to 18th c.]
Synonyms
- (grope awkwardly): grubble, poke; see also Thesaurus:feel around
Derived terms
Translations
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Nomen
fumble (plural fumbles)
- (sports, American football, Canadian football) A ball etc. that has been dropped by accident.
Translations
Etymology 2
Nomen
fumble (plural fumbles)
Further reading
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.saob.se/artikel/?unik=F_0213-0018.DmYd
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “fumble”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “2313”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 2313
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