clump

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[1] (compare German Klumpen). Cognates include Danish klump (probably from Low German as well[2]). Compare Norwegian Bokmål klump.

• IPA^(key): /klʌmp/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ʌmp

clump (plural clumps)

1. A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass.
2. A thick group or bunch, especially of bushes or hair.
   • Hawthorne

     a clump of shrubby trees

3. A dull thud.
4. The compressed clay of coal strata.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Brande & C to this entry?)

5. A small group of trees or plants.
6. (historical) A thick addition to the sole of a shoe.

• clumpy

to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} touffe (fr) f

clump (third-person singular simple present clumps, present participle clumping, simple past and past participle clumped)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To form clusters or lumps.
2. (transitive, intransitive) To gather in dense groups.
3. (intransitive) To walk with heavy footfalls.

• clump up

• Clump in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)