Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Alternative spelling of
gormless .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word gawmless.
Examples
-
'Yo' sit theer gawmless-like, one on yo 'breakin' th 'spoons, and t'other turnin' teacups o'er.
Lancashire Idylls (1898) Marshall Mather
-
'Yi; they say luv's gawmless; but aw welly think Mr. Penrose knows what he's abaat.'
Lancashire Idylls (1898) Marshall Mather
-
But tak it away an come in an get thi drinkin an dooant stand thear lukkin as gawmless as that article.
Yorkshire Tales. Third Series Amusing sketches of Yorkshire Life in the Yorkshire Dialect John Hartley 1877
-
She spoke of her bairns (` children ') who were often badly (` ill') with something smittlin '(` infectious'), or were gawmless (` stupid ').
epeolatrist commented on the word gawmless
having hands so cold that they've lost their function
January 1, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word gawmless
Interesting. In what dialect or region, do you know? I've never heard it before but it sounds (to my untrained ears) suspiciously like a Newfoundlandish term. Signed, Too Lazy to Go Look for Herself.
:)
Edit: Okay, so I went and looked anyway. Explanations here and here. Of Scots origin? Still, neither of these alternate spellings/definitions is as precise as this one. And none of the spellings I came up with are in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English. *disappointed*
January 1, 2009
dontcry commented on the word gawmless
"my untrained ears" made me think of obedience school for ears... *snort*
January 2, 2009
Gammerstang commented on the word gawmless
(adjective) - (1) Within Lancashire, to gawm is to understand or comprehend, and a man is said to gawm that which he can hold in his hand. For this reason, a person is said there to be gawmless when his fingers are so cold and frozen that he has not proper use of them. --Rev. John Watson's Uncommon Words Used in Halifax, 1775 (2) Heedless; careless; inattentive. Senseless; vacant; lubberly. --Joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary, 1896-1905
February 5, 2018