Bungler
/ˈbʌŋ.ɡlər/noun
A person who does something clumsily or incompetently.
Did you know?The word is built from the older verb *bungle*, first recorded in the 16th century, and its exact origin is uncertain—one of those eerie cases where English seems to have conjured a word out of pure sound.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
English
bungle
“To do clumsily or awkwardly; to bungle a task.”
16th Century
English
bungler
“A person who does things clumsily or incompetently.”
Unknown
English
bung
“A stopper for a cask or barrel; also a lump or swelling in some dialects.”
Unknown
English
?
“The deeper origin is uncertain; the word may be expressive or imitative rather than inherited from a clearly traceable root.”