Word of the Day

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A variant spelling of gormless, gaumless first appeared in English in the mid-1700s from the now-outdated British term gome.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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