clump

== English == === 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. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /klʌmp/ Rhymes: -ʌmp === Noun === clump (plural clumps) A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass. A thick group or bunch, especially of bushes or hair. 1954, Lucian Hobart Ryland (translator), Adelaide of Brunswick (originally by Marquis de Sade) A dull thud. The compressed clay of coal strata. A small group of trees or plants. (historical) A thick addition to the sole of a shoe. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === clump (third-person singular simple present clumps, present participle clumping, simple past and past participle clumped) (ambitransitive) To form clusters or lumps. (ambitransitive) To gather in dense groups. (intransitive) To walk with heavy footfalls. (transitive, UK, regional) To strike; to beat. ==== Derived terms ==== clump up ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === Clump in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)