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A person may be referred to as 'Gormless' if they do something stupid or clumsy, but what is 'Gorm'? And can someone be ‘gormfull’ or ‘full of gorm’?

Question #61790. Asked by lomast.

Stew54
Answer has 2 votes
Stew54
21 year member
530 replies

Answer has 2 votes.
The common derivation given is from a dialect word "gaum", sometimes said to be originally a Scottish dialect word, but otherwise considered originally a Yorkshire word. Either way it is believed to come from an old Norse word, "gaumr". These words all have the general sense of "attention", "care", "heed", "notice". Hence someone lacking in those qualities is gormless (which can be, but rarely is spelt gaumless).

Here's a source which favours the Yorkshire heritage.

link http://www.viking.no/e/england/e-yorkshire_norse.htm#G

It's not that unusual to find a word like this where the obvious antonym has fallen out of use altogether. For instance, "ruthless" is a common word (well it is for me, but then I'm a lawyer), whereas "ruthful" is never encountered.

Jan 18 2006, 7:33 AM
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TabbyTom
Answer has 1 vote
TabbyTom
22 year member
1233 replies avatar

Answer has 1 vote.
Although there’s no evidence of the existence of “gormful,” the Oxford English Dictionary does list “gaum-like,” which comes from the same root. It is said to mean “having an intelligent look” and is illustrated by a quotation from Mrs Gaskell’s novel “Sylvia’s Lovers,” published in 1863:

“She were a poor, friendless wench .... but honest and gaum-like.”

Jan 18 2006, 10:19 AM
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