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fumble (v.)
mid-15c., "handle clumsily," possibly from Old Norse falma "to fumble, grope." Similar words in Scandinavian and North Sea Germanic (Swedish fumla; Dutch fommelen) suggest onomatopoeia from a sound felt to indicate clumsiness (compare bumble, stumble, and obsolete English famble, fimble of roughly the same meaning). Intransitive sense "do or seek awkwardly" is from 1530s. Sense in football is from 1889. Related: Fumbled; fumbling.
fumble (n.)
1640s, from fumble (v.).
updated on February 02, 2015
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Definitions of fumble from WordNet
Dictionary entries near fumble
fulminant
fulminate
fulmination
fulness
fulsome
fumble
fumbling
fume
fumigate
fumigation
fuming