Hypertext Webster Gateway: "clumsy"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Clumsy \Clum"sy\, a. [Compar. {Clumsier}; superl. {Clumsiest}.]
[OE. clumsed benumbed, fr. clumsen to be benumbed; cf. Icel.
klumsa lockjaw, dial. Sw. klummsen benumbed with cold. Cf.
1st {Clam}, and 1st {Clamp}.]
1. Stiff or benumbed, as with cold. [Obs.]
2. Without skill or grace; wanting dexterity, nimbleness, or
readiness; stiff; awkward, as if benumbed; unwieldy;
unhandy; hence; ill-made, misshapen, or inappropriate; as,
a clumsy person; a clumsy workman; clumsy fingers; a
clumsy gesture; a clumsy excuse.
But thou in clumsy verse, unlicked, unpointed, Hast
shamefully defied the Lord's anointed. --Dryden.
Syn: See {Awkward}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
clumsy
adj 1: lacking grace in movement or posture; "a gawky lad with long
ungainly legs"; "clumsy fingers"; "what an ungainly
creature a giraffe is"; "heaved his unwieldy figure
out of his chair" [syn: {gawky}, {clunky}, {ungainly},
{unwieldy}]
2: not elegant or graceful in expression; "an awkward prose
style"; "a clumsy apology"; "his cumbersome writing
style"; "if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept
than to repeat it now?" [syn: {awkward}, {cumbersome}, {inapt},
{inept}, {ill-chosen}]
3: difficult to handle or manage especially because of shape;
"an awkward bundle to carry"; "a load of bunglesome
paraphernalia"; "clumsy wooden shoes"; "the cello, a
rather ungainly instrument for a girl" [syn: {awkward}, {bunglesome},
{ungainly}]
4: showing lack of skill or aptitude; "a bungling workman";
"did a clumsy job"; "his fumbling attempt to put up a
shelf" [syn: {bungling}, {fumbling}, {incompetent}]
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