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Fumble

//ˈfʌmbəl// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A ball etc. that has been dropped by accident. Canadian
  2. 2
    A dessert similar to a cross between a fool and a crumble. British
  3. 3
    (sports) dropping the ball wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To handle nervously or awkwardly. intransitive, transitive

    "Waiting for the interview, he fumbled with his tie."

  2. 2
    drop or juggle or fail to play cleanly a grounder wordnet
  3. 3
    To grope awkwardly in trying to find something intransitive, transitive

    "He fumbled for his keys."

  4. 4
    handle clumsily wordnet
  5. 5
    To blunder uncertainly. intransitive

    "He fumbled through his prepared speech."

Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    feel about uncertainly or blindly wordnet
  2. 7
    To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly.

    "to fumble for an excuse"

  3. 8
    make one's way clumsily or blindly wordnet
  4. 9
    To drop a ball or a baton etc. by accident. intransitive, transitive

    "Henderson's best strike on goal saw goalkeeper Kingson uncomfortably fumble his measured shot around the post."

  5. 10
    make a mess of, destroy or ruin wordnet
  6. 11
    To handle much; to play childishly; to turn over and over.

    "I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers."

  7. 12
    Of a man, to sexually underperform. obsolete, slang

Etymology

Etymology 1

From late Middle English, from Low German fummeln, fommeln, fammeln (German fummeln), or Dutch fommelen. 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, 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”. The ultimate origin for either could perhaps be imitative of fumbling. 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”).

Etymology 2

From late Middle English, from Low German fummeln, fommeln, fammeln (German fummeln), or Dutch fommelen. 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, 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”. The ultimate origin for either could perhaps be imitative of fumbling. 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”).

Etymology 3

Blend of fool + crumble.

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