clump en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /klʌmp/
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English clompe, from Old English clymppe, a variant of clympre (“a lump or mass of metal”), from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“mass, lump, clump; clasp”), from Proto-Indo-European *glembʰ- (“lump, clamp”). Alternatively, possibly from Middle Dutch clompe or Middle Low German klumpe (compare German Klumpen). Doublet of klomp. Cognates include Danish klump (probably from Low German as well). Compare Norwegian Bokmål klump.
Meanings
- A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass.
-
(collective) A thick group or bunch, especially of bushes or hair.
There are suitable clumps of gorse a little way back, sir. I anticipate that you would be quite safe there, or I would not suggest it, sir.
1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries:clump of trees
1954, Lucian Hobart Ryland (translator), Adelaide of Brunswick (originally by Marquis de Sade)
- (collective) A small group of trees or other plants growing together.
-
A dull thud.
She [Miss Climpson] asks questions which a young man could not put without a blush. She is the angel that rushes in where fools get a clump on the head.
1927, Dorothy L. Sayers, Unnatural Death:Thus, the myths of cinema and syndicated cartoon have served to unite the diverse races far more than the clump of the cricket-ball and the clipped rebukes and laudations of their masters.
1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 37:
-
The compressed clay of coal strata.
clump-burned bricks
1837, The Magazine of Domestic Economy:
- (historical) A thick addition to the sole of a shoe.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| clumps | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Pine Clump · clumplike · macroclump · red clump · clumpful · interclump · declump · subclump · clumpable · clumpish · unclump · clumpy · clumper · microclump · clump block
Translations (58)
cs skupina (a small group of trees or plants) · cs shluk (thick group) · ga tom (a small group of trees or plants) · ru заросли (thick group) · es matorral (thick group) · ga dos (a small group of trees or plants) · fi ryväs (cluster) · ga tom (thick group) · ru клок (thick group) · fr amas (cluster) · fi tömäys (dull thud) · cs hrouda (cluster) · ga braisle (cluster) · cs trs (a small group of trees or plants) · sv klump (cluster) · cs skupina (thick group) · fi klusteri (cluster) · cs shluk (a small group of trees or plants) · ru глыба (cluster) · fr touffe (thick group) · mi aropā (thick group) · pt amontoados pl or (cluster) · fi kimppu (cluster) · grc βῶλος (cluster) · sv snår (thick group) · pt agrupamento (cluster) · de Büschel (thick group) · es mechón (thick group) · bg буца (cluster) · ga cnuasach (cluster) · fi pensaikko (thick group) · ga mothar (cluster) · ga mothar (a small group of trees or plants) · fi kasauma (cluster) · de Klumpen (cluster) · pt montão (cluster) · gl grumo (cluster) · fi nippu (cluster) · es grumo (cluster) · ga scata (cluster) · de Plumps (dull thud) · ga cíonán (dull thud) · pt montoeira sg or (cluster) · fr massif (a small group of trees or plants) · izh kaakka (cluster) · mi aropā (a small group of trees or plants) · mi oro (a small group of trees or plants) · fi vesakko (thick group) · bg тропот (dull thud) · pt montoeiras pl or (cluster) · mi urupuia (thick group) · pt amontoado (cluster) · ru ком (cluster) · ga dos (cluster) · pt montões (cluster) · grc βῶλαξ (cluster) · fi tiheikkö (thick group) · es plop (dull thud)