Stumblebum
/ˈstʌm.bəl.bʌm/noun
A clumsy, awkward, or inept person.
Did you know?Although it feels playful and slangy, stumblebum is a compound of native English words, and stumble itself goes back to an old Germanic root tied to staggering and tripping.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*steu-
“to push, thrust, or knock against”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*stumbōną
“to stumble, trip, or stagger”
Old English
OE
stymblian
“to stumble or trip”
Middle English
ME
stomblen
“to stumble”
20th Century
English
stumblebum
“a clumsy or inept person”