Where does “fumble” come from?
Fumble comes from Dutch fommelen, meaning to handle clumsily or work with the hands in an awkward manner.
fumble (English): To handle nervously or awkwardly; To grope...
Definitions
- To handle nervously or awkwardly; To grope...
Ancestry of “fumble”, step by step
fumble traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English fool
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fool | A person with poor judgment or little... |
| 2 | French | fouler | to stamp, impress, dent; to mill; to walk on,... |
| 3 | Middle French | fouller | to mistreat |
| 4 | Old French | foler | to destroy; to mistreat |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | fullo | fuller |
| 6 | Latin | fullo | fuller |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |
via English crumble
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | crumble | To fall apart; to disintegrate; To break into... |
| 2 | English | crymble | — |
| 3 | Middle English | crymblen | — |
| 4 | Old English | crymlan | to crumble |
| 5 | Old English | cruma | fragment; crumb |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | krumô | crumb, fragment |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | grū-mo- | something scraped together, lumber, junk; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ger- | to turn, bend, twist, wind; to tie, bind... |