bumblen.1
/ˈbʌmbl/, U.S. /ˈbəmb(ə)l/ 1.
a. A bumblebee (genus Bombus).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > superfamily Apoidea (bees) > member of family Bombidae (bumble-bee)
dora700
humble-beea1450
bumblebee1530
drumble bee1592
bumble1599
grumbledory1600
bumbee1605
bumbarda1614
dumbledore1787
foggie1819
bummer1822
bumbler1825
drumble drone1855
drumble-dore1881
1599 ‘T. Cutwode’ Caltha Poetarum cxxxvi The Bumble nods his head, & makes an offer.
1637 N. Whiting Le Hore di Recreatione 8 Yon' tender webs Arachne spins, Through which with ease the lusty Bumbles break.
1789 D. Davidson Thoughts Seasons 63 Up the howes the bummles fly in troops.
1877 Amer. Agriculturist Oct. 1877 387/1 Unlike the honey-bee, the Bumbles lay up no store for winter.
1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. (at cited word) Eh! theer's a big bumble.
1910 R. Quin Borderland 87 Here's Peter like an eel, aye saft-spoken and genteel—Tho' as busy as a bummle in the bar.
1985 M. Gibson Dancing with Mermaids (1986) xi. 63 Bee orchids thrust out flowers disguised as the dark and hairy rumps of bumbles.
2007 Sunday Independent (Ireland) (Nexis) 15 Apr. (Features section) Bumbles and honey bees are important pollinators.
b. Angling. In fly fishing: a type of brightly coloured palmer (palmer n.1 2b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > artificial fly > types of
moor flylOE
drake-flya1450
dub-flya1450
dun cut1496
dun fly1496
louper1496
red fly1616
moorish fly1635
palmer1653
palmer fly1653
red hackle1653
red palmer1653
shell-fly1653
orange fly1662
blackfly1669
dun1676
dun hackle1676
hackle1676
mayfly1676
peacock fly1676
thorn-tree fly1676
turkey-fly1676
violet-fly1676
whirling dun1676
badger fly1681
greenfly1686
moorish brown1689
prime dun1696
sandfly1700
grey midge1724
whirling blue1747
dun drake?1758
death drake1766
hackle fly1786
badger1787
blue1787
brown-fly1787
camel-brown1787
spinner1787
midge1799
night-fly1799
thorn-fly1799
turkey1799
withy-fly1799
grayling fly1811
sun fly1820
cock-a-bondy1835
brown moth1837
bunting-lark fly1837
governor1837
water-hen hackle1837
Waterloo fly1837
coachman1839
soldier palmer1839
blue jay1843
red tag1850
canary1855
white-tip1856
spider1857
bumble1859
doctor1860
ibis1863
Jock Scott1866
eagle1867
highlander1867
jay1867
John Scott1867
judge1867
parson1867
priest1867
snow-fly1867
Jack Scott1874
Alexandra1875
silver doctor1875
Alexandra fly1882
grackle1894
grizzly queen1894
heckle-fly1897
Zulu1898
thunder and lightning1910
streamer1919
Devon1924
peacock1950
1859 Review: Country Gentleman's Jrnl. 29 Oct. 1113/3 Smelt called upon me to purchase some killing-flies, and I recommended bumble, furnace, and rough-red.
1889 F. M. Halford Dry-fly Fishing vi. 123 An orange bumble, floated occasionally over the feeding fish, may be successful.
1925 Manch. Guardian 2 Oct. 20/2 My best fish of the year, a beauty who took a ruby bumble as if he meant it.
1974 Irish Times 31 Aug. 6/5 The heaviest trout..fell to a Bumble Olive.
2004 B. Wyatt Trout Hunting (2005) viii. 150 The Dabbler has maybe usurped the classic Bumble to a certain extent.
2. English regional. A bittern, Botaurus stellaris (family Ardeidae).
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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [noun] > family Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) > member of genus Botaurus (bittern)
bitternc1330
mire-druma1398
butterbump1671
bog-bumper1804
bumble1813
bog-blitter1815
bull-of-the-bog1815
1813 G. Montagu Suppl. Ornithol. Dict. Bumble, vide Bittern.
1852 W. Macgillivray Hist. Brit. Birds IV. 410 Botaurus Stellaris. The European Bittern...Bumble.
1895 J. Denham Wild-fowl & Sea-fowl Great Brit. x. 124 Bumble, Miredrum, Bitter-bum, Bog-bumper, and Butter-bump..by all these names and a few more is the Bittern called.
1984 W. B. Lockwood Oxf. Bk. Brit. Bird Names 36/2 Bumble, a name for the Bittern, locality not quoted.
2007 S. Moss Remarkable Birds 30/1 The plethora of folk names for the species derive from its booming sound, including ‘bumble’.
3. A buzzing or humming noise. Cf. bumbling n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > continuous or protracted sound > [noun] > monotonous sound > hum
humblingc1384
hummingc1440
hum1601
reel1747
reeling1747
bum1790
bumble1834
brum1842
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > continuous or protracted sound > sibilant sound > [noun] > buzz
buzzing1495
beminga1522
fuzzing1676
bumble1834
Z-ing1852
zizz1860
zizzing1884
zinging1921
tizziness1976
1834 A. M. Hall Irish Fairy Fable in Heath's Bk. Beauty 124 The bumble of the brown bees' pipes.
1953 R. Kirk Conservative Mind v. 144 Randolph's shrill voice rose above the bumble of talk.
1983 Iowa Rev. 13 38 The bumble Of a motor car speeding out of sight.
2014 Sunday Times (Ireland ed.) (Nexis) 23 Nov. (Culture section) 28 The soft folk-pop bumble..highlights O'Reilly's ear for melody.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
bumblen.2
/ˈbʌmbl/, U.S. /ˈbəmb(ə)l/ 1. † a. Scottish. Probably: blundering, incompetent efforts. Cf. bumbling n.2 Obsolete. N.E.D. (1888) tentatively interpreted the meaning of quot. 1621 as ‘a humming noise; bluster’ and placed the quot. at bumble n.1 The reading of this passage in the earlier Tullibardine manuscript is notably different: see a1585 at bumbie n.† b. Scottish. A blundering or incompetent person; = bumbler n.1 Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [noun] > unskilful action or working
blunderingc1440
blunt-workingc1440
bumbling1533
stumbling1569
bumble1621
bodging1634
budgelling1657
bungling1663
boggling1834
bunglery1837
muffing1841
perpetration1849
foozling1927
muck-up1942
1621 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart (Hart) sig. A3 For all your bombill [1632 bombling], ye'r war'd a little wee: I thinke for to see you hing by the heilis.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > person of weak intellect > confused, muddled person > [noun]
mafflardc1450
juffler15..
dromedary1567
madbrain1570
batie buma1586
addle-head1592
blunderkin1596
nit1598
addle-pate1601
hash1655
blunderbuss1692
blunderhead1692
shaffles1703
fog-pate1732
blunderer1741
puzzle-pate1761
slouch1767
étourdi1768
botch1769
puddle1782
bumble1789
scatter-brain1790
addle-brain1799
puzzle-head1815
shaffler1828
chowderhead1833
muddlehead1833
muddler1833
flounderer1836
duffer1842
muddle-pate1844
plug1848
incompetent1866
schlemiel1868
dinlo1873
drumble-dore1881
hodmandod1881
dub1887
prune1895
foozler1896
bollock1916
messer1926
Pilot Officer (also P.O.) Prune1942
spaz1965
spastic1981
1789 D. Davidson Thoughts Seasons 181 The Muse..ca'd me bumble.
1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 127 Some bubblie bumle, wi' a brainless head, In shape o' man, but void o' manly merit.
1865 J. Young Homely Pictures in Verse 170 At gaun I'm sic a bummel, I'm fleyt some day I'll get a tumble.
c. Originally English regional (northern) and Scottish. A mistake, a blunder; a bungled task.
ΚΠ
1823 Keelman's Stick in Coll. Orig. Newcastle Songs (ed. 4) 11 They made sic a bummel wi' sail and wi' line.
1914 R. B. Cunninghame Graham Sc. Stories 53 He is sure to mak' a bummle o' the job!
1994 Washington Post 19 Mar. d5/3 The priest who continually makes bumbles like ‘your awful wedded wife’.
2009 Leek Post & Times (Nexis) 16 Dec. 27 Christian also made a bumble during the first night performance, falling backwards off a log.
2. A confused, disorganized, or untidy collection of things; a jumble, a muddle, a mess. Frequently with of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > absence of arrangement > [noun] > a disorderly collection
rabblea1398
hotchpotc1405
hotchpotchc1410
mishmashc1475
gaggle?1478
chaos?1550
humble-jumble1550
huddle1587
wilderness1594
lurry1607
hatterc1626
farragoa1637
bumble1648
higgledy-piggledy1659
jumble1661
clutter1666
hugger-mugger1674
litter1730
imbroglio1753
confusion1791
cludder1801
hurrah's nest1829
hotter1834
welter1857
muddle1863
splatter1895
shamble1926
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > [noun] > a confused assemblage or mixture
mishmashc1475
rabblement1539
mingle-mangle1549
bumble broth1572
bumble-bath1595
mash1601
colluvies1647
bumble1648
farrago1650
higgledy-piggledy1659
jumble1661
farrage1698
tumble1755
pie1837
Sargasso Sea1855
wirrwarra1866
chop suey1888
dog's breakfast1892
dog's dinner1902
sargasso1934
paella1939
1648 W. Jenkyn Ὁδηγος Τυϕλος i. 15 A bumble of musty reasons.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Bumble, Cloaths setting in a heap, or ruck.
1702 Prince Perkin II 3 Form'd for Laughter and Abuse, Or rather but for Nurse's use, To frighten Bratts that Squall and Grumble, Here, take him horrid Bumble, Jumble!
1846 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I Bumble,..(4) a confused heap. North.
1867 Ecclesiologist 28 92 A bumble of rough boards enclosing rubbish of all kinds.
1968 Listener 14 Nov. 662/3 His best ideas emerge out of an almost unbelievable bumble.
2008 J. Haney Fair Shares for All (2009) 226 [We] regretfully siphoned a feeble cascade of unprepossessing clothes into a bumble of trash bags.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > sloth or laziness > [noun] > lazy person > an idler or loafer
lurdanc1330
player1340
moochera1425
loon?c1450
lounger?a1513
idler1534
rest man1542
holiday-woman1548
baty bummill1568
bummill baty1568
friar-fly?1577
idol1579
lingerer1579
loll1582
idleby1589
shit-rags1598
blaitie bum1602
idle1635
Lollard1635
loiterer1684
saunterer1688
scobberlotchera1697
bumble1786
quisby1789
waffler1805
shoat1808
loafer1830
bummer1855
dead beat1863
bum1864
scowbanker1864
schnorrer1875
scowbank1881
ikey1906
layabout1932
lie-about1937
spine-basher1946
limer1964
1786 R. Burns Poems 182 Some drowsy bummle, Wha can do nought but fyke an' fumble.
Compounds
bumble-arsed adj. rare clumsy, awkward; bumbling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adjective] > clumsy or awkward
stubblea1300
lubber?1515
awkward1530
unwieldy1530
lubberlike1572
unwieldsome1579
lubberly1580
looby1582
wieldy1588
clumsy1597
ungainly1611
unqueme1611
untowardly1611
clouter-likea1624
hip-shot1642
loobish1648
loobily1655
bumble-arsed1661
clouterly1675
lubbard1679
fumbling1681
sinistrousa1682
maladroit1685
shammockinga1704
ungain1710
splay-footed1716
gawky1759
hobbledehoyish1812
uncouthly1821
nunting1836
shammocky1841
numb1854
awkwardish1860
slummocky?1861
numb-footed1867
gawkish1876
flat-footed1899
brontosaurian1909
shamblya1937
slew-foot1945
ham-footed1960
klutzy1961
dorkus1979
1661 K. W. Confused Characters 66 A Hog in Armour; just such another bumble arst fur-fact piece of Mortality.
2014 V. Able Never mind Bullocks ix I might be a deferential, bumble-arsed Englishwoman, but if that meant having good manners towards the elderly, then I would stick to my guns.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
† bumblen.3
Obsolete.
1. A blindfold.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > not seeing or preventing from seeing > [noun] > anything obstructing sight > blindfold
scarf1587
muffler1600
bumble1623
bandeau1861
1623 W. Lisle in tr. Ælfric Saxon Treat. Old & New Test. Pref. 14 Hood-winked with his implicite faith, as with a bumble on his head.
1661 ‘Theophilus Timorcus’ Covenanters Plea v. 18 The insignificant figures of wanton Rhetorick, wofully blurred too with foolish passion, which may possible, satisfie such as were before resolved to be satisfied, and make a Bumble sufficient for the eyes of some silly souls.
2. English regional (East Anglian). In plural. Coverings for the eyes of a horse, restricting its vision more than blinkers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > blinkers
winkers1583
eye-flap1611
spectacle1632
lunettea1656
headboard1679
blinkers1732
bluff1777
blinder1807
bumblea1825
blind1828
blind-winkers1831
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Bumbles, coverings for the eyes of a horse, obstructing his vision more effectually than common blinkers.
1866 J. G. Nall Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft 523 Bumbles, coverings for horses' eyes more effectual than blinkers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
bumblen.4
/ˈbʌmbl/, U.S. /ˈbəmb(ə)l/ English regional (north-eastern). Now rare.
Rushes or reeds, perhaps Schoenoplectus lacustris (family Cyperaceae), esp. when used to make the seats of chairs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > rush and related plants
rusheOE
sharp rushc1050
seave14..
junk?a1425
candle-rushc1440
rush1562
sea-rush1562
camel's-straw1578
mat-rush1578
sprot1595
frog grass1597
matweed1597
rush grass1597
sprata1600
spart1614
bumble1633
toad-grass1640
moss-rush1670
thresha1689
spreta1700
bog rush1760
black grassa1763
goose-corn1762
toad-rush1776
wood-rush1776
stool-bent1777
scrub-grass1811
beak-rush1830
salt-weed1836
wiwi1840
thread rush1861
three-leaved rush1861
kill-cow1898
1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) i. xxix. 35 The greater [Rushes] are commonly in many places termed Bumbles.
1681 Inventory 23 May in J. A. Johnston Probate Inventories Lincoln Citizens 1661–1714 (1991) 76 In the north Chamber. One bedstead..one livery cubbert. 2 chests. One chaine table. 8 bumble chairs.
1694 W. Westmacott Θεολοβοτονολογια 32 Bull-Rushes..in some Countries..are termed Bumbles.
1800 S. Partridge Remonstrance against Mr. John Rennie 18 Give up only the East Fen deeps..to bumbles for your chairs, which (like those of other good farmers) will be made of horse-hair and mahogany.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Bumbles, rushes, such as are used for chair-bottoms.
1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorks. Folk-talk 273 The bumble- or bass-barfam was specially used for young colts and fillies when first yoked.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 44/2 Bumbles, rushes; reeds.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† bumblen.5
English regional (western). Obsolete.
A stone of varying size, esp. a small stone occurring within a bed of limestone. Cf. ballstone n. at ball n.1 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > a stone > [noun] > other stones
loys1295
anthracites1535
rockstone?1545
stone-glass1585
milkstone1598
fieldstone1649
pebble1669
ballstone1726
grain-stone1756
knablick1757
found stone1800
sitfast1809
graptolite1838
bumble1839
hardhead1849
chock1894
chockstone1894
1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. i. xxxi. 413 Small concretions, which..alternate with beds of solid limestone. The former..are here known under the name of bumbles.
1839 G. C. Lewis Gloss. Provinc. Words Herefordshire Bumble, a large waterworn stone, found among gravel.
1846 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I Bumble, a small round stone.
1859 R. I. Murchison Siluria (new ed.) vi. 128 The ‘ballstones’.., being more crystalline than the nodules or ‘bumbles’, have been quarried out.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
Bumblen.6
/ˈbʌmbl/, U.S. /ˈbəmbəl/ depreciative. Now rare.
A minor local official, such as a member of a municipal corporation, parish council, etc., considered as behaving in an officious and pompous manner; (in early use often) spec. a beadle considered in this way. Frequently attributive in early use.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > [noun] > officious or petty
Jack in office1652
red-tapist1832
red-taper1837
Bumble1846
red tapeworm1851
tapist1852
jobsworth1970
1846 Dublin Univ. Mag. Apr. 446/2 This sum to a German of the ‘Bumble class’ being a little fortune, they often make great, and occasionally successful exertions for the apprehension of offenders.
1856 Sat. Rev. 2 416/2 It will..be useless to impress upon the great Bumble mind, etc.
1864 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (new ed.) Bumble, a beadle.
1873 C. M. Davies Orthodox London 10 I shall never forget the look with which that dignitary regarded the officious Bumble.
1916 F. E. Greville Woman & War vii. 59 The Bumbles of our Education Councils have nodded thick, approving heads.
1965 R. H. Ross Georgian Revolt viii. 176 Some of the verse it printed was obviously chosen more with an eye toward infuriating the Bumbles than out of a concern for poetic art.
Compounds
ΚΠ
1888 Punch 4 Feb. 53/2 The apish antics of a Bumble crew, The worst this town containeth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
bumblev.1
/ˈbʌmbl/, U.S. /ˈbəmb(ə)l/ 1. † a. Of a bittern: to make its characteristic call; to boom (see boom v.1 1a). Cf. bum v.2 1a, bubble v. 1a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [verb (intransitive)] > make sound (of bittern)
bumblec1405
bump1646
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 945 As a Bitore bombleth in the Myre [c1415 Corpus Oxf. bumliþ, c1430 Cambr. Gg.4.27 bumbith].
b. intransitive. Of a bee, fly, etc.: to buzz; to hum. Also in extended use: to make a sound like a bee buzzing. Cf. earlier bumbling n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [verb (intransitive)] > buzz
bumble1689
1689 R. Hogarth Gazophylacium Anglicanum at To rebound To bumble, or humble like Bees.
1832 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 599 The sound of happy life is abroad on the mild air: for the bee bumbles among the moss..and the black-cock rustles.
1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. 78 Bumble, to hum or buzz.
1925 C. Dodd Farthing Spinster 240 Grasshoppers sang, bees bumbled.
1941 W. Lewis Let. 10 Aug. (1963) 296 How can people read books with war-planes incessantly bumbling away over their heads.
2013 M. Bond Last Savanna (2014) viii. 54 Nothing but the somnolent chant of birds, wail of an ibis, bees bumbling in the brush.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > blame > [verb (transitive)]
accuseOE
witea1000
blamec1200
lastc1225
awreakc1275
friec1300
lack1340
impugn1377
aretc1386
default1489
remord1522
culpate1548
tax1548
finger-point1563
witen1589
attask1608
refounda1653
thank1667
bumble1675
to take to task1682
twitter1749
1675 T. Duffett Mock-tempest iii. i. 23 Be bumbled, and jumbl'd, and grumbl'd at.
1781 W. Cowper Let. 31 Dec. (1979) I. 569 I shall not bumble Johnson for finding fault with Friendship.
3. intransitive. To speak in a rambling, incoherent, or indistinct way, especially at tedious length. Frequently with on.In some examples overlapping with bumble v.2
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > be talkative [verb (intransitive)] > ramble or waffle
blether1524
spout1556
ramble1616
extravage1759
maunder1834
mumble-jumble1834
moider1839
gander1858
mither1860
burble1891
flap-doodle1893
waffle1900
bumble1911
wibble1994
1911 B. Grimshaw When Red Gods Call vii. 127 ‘Hereditary what?’ gasped Stephanie: but Worboise bumbled on, stopless and resistless.
1957 H. Hall Parish's Dict. Sussex Dial. (new ed.) 15/1 You can see what they're driving at but they do keep all on bumbling about it.
1958 Listener 2 Jan. 36/1 To doze contentedly over my set, bumbling on about the good fortune of my colleague.
1958 Punch 29 Jan. 181/2 His style of oratory is peculiar, as he bumbles along like a metaphysical farmer.
2014 P. Livers Cementville vii. 91 He bumbles on, but no one is listening.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
bumblev.2
/ˈbʌmbl/, U.S. /ˈbəmb(ə)l/α. 1500s bomble, 1500s–1600s 1800s– bumble.
β. English regional (northern) 1800s bummel, 1800s bummle; Scottish 1700s bumle, 1700s–1800s bummil, 1700s–1900s bummel.
1. intransitive. To act or move in an awkward or confused manner; (often) spec. to blunder about clumsily, incompetently, or carelessly. Now frequently with about, around. Cf. bumbling n.2, bumbling adj.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > do something unskilfully [verb (intransitive)] > blunder, stumble, or flounder
stumblec1394
bumble1533
blunder1641
flounder1684
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > blindly or stupidly
blunderc1386
bumble1807
1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere vii. p. cccxli The thynge where about he hath bombled all this whyle.
1540 Brefe Apol. Certen Craftye Cloynar sig. Av Ye fare lyke hym that tumble For nought ye do but bumble.
1788 E. Picken Poems & Epist. 99 Now I'se be doon, wi' huthran fumle, As I'm aye unca redd to bumle.
1807 J. Stagg Misc. Poems (new ed.) 145 As for a bang he bummel'd..An' down the warrior tumel'd.
1876 Coursing Cal. 212 Merry Girl beat Unknown in good style, the latter bumbling very much at his fences.
1949 S. J. Perelman Let. 7 Mar. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 90 Instead of letting you bumble around the native markets or wharves by yourself.
1959 E. Pound Thrones xcvii. 32 The artigianato bumbles into technology.
2014 Irish Independent (Nexis) 27 Sept. (Weekend section) 39 Various politically correct characters bumble about fussily but never seem to achieve anything.
2. transitive. Originally Scottish and English regional (northern). To carry out (a task) clumsily, incompetently, or with many careless mistakes; to bungle, botch. Cf. bumble n.2 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > be unskilled in [verb (transitive)] > bungle
botch1530
bungle1530
mumble1588
muddle1605
mash1642
bumble?1719
to fall through ——1726
fuck1776
blunder1805
to make a mull of1821
bitch1823
mess1823
to make a mess of1834
smudge1864
to muck up1875
boss1887
to make balls of1889
duff1890
foozle1892
bollocks1901
fluff1902
to make a muck of1903
bobble1908
to ball up1911
jazz1914
boob1915
to make a hash of1920
muff1922
flub1924
to make a hat of1925
to ass up1932
louse1934
screw1938
blow1943
to foul up1943
eff1945
balls1947
to make a hames of1947
to arse up1951
to fuck up1967
dork1969
sheg1981
bodge1984
?1719 A. Ramsay in A. Ramsay & W. Hamilton Familiar Epist. 14 'Tis ne'er be me Shall..say ye bummil Ye'r poetrie.
1844 Yorks. Comet No. 3 in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 440/2 Bummlekite..bummled t'writin'-desk soa..'at here wur an hoor an' a hauf's joiner's war ta dew at it.
1980 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 30 Oct. a27/1 Ronald Reagan..persistently bumbled lines, saying things like ‘muddy bloody field’ (the script called for ‘muddy battlefield’).
2013 E. Grieder Big, Hot, Cheap & Right (2014) iii. 43 The negotiator, however, bumbled the job.
Phrasal verbs
to bumble along
1. intransitive. To move slowly or awkwardly along one's way.
ΚΠ
1898 Fort Wayne (Indiana) News 6 Aug. She stood unsteadily.., trying to preserve her balance as the 'bus bumbled along.
1927 V. Sackville-West Let. 2 Feb. in Lett. to V. Woolf (1984) 147 The train bumbles along at a pleasantly slow pace.
1995 On the Edge Aug. 44/1 The Tortoises..just bumbled along from dawn to dusk, be it very slowly and effectively, but easily keeping abreast of the Hares romping up the route no trouble at all.
2. intransitive. To live one's life or continue in a course of action without a plan, goal, or guiding principle; to muddle along.
ΚΠ
1958 Logansport (Indiana) Pharos Tribune 16 Oct. 4/1 Some local P.T.A. groups are keenly responsive to needs for improvement in facilities or in the quality of education; others bumble along without imagination, in a rut of stale programming.
1996 Company Dec. 101/2 Many people just bumble along in relationships without really noticing what's happening.
2006 Guardian 8 Apr. i. 37/5 Content as I am to bumble along uninterested in decorating and unconsoled by shopping.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
† bumblev.3
Obsolete.
transitive. To have sexual intercourse with; = bumfiddle v. 2. Cf. earlier bumble-bath n. 1, bumble broth n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with
mingeOE
haveOE
knowc1175
ofliec1275
to lie with (or by)a1300
knowledgec1300
meetc1330
beliea1350
yknowc1350
touchc1384
deala1387
dightc1386
usea1387
takec1390
commona1400
to meet witha1400
servea1400
occupy?a1475
engender1483
jangle1488
to be busy with1525
to come in1530
visitc1540
niggle1567
mow1568
to mix one's thigh with1593
do1594
grind1598
pepper1600
yark1600
tumble1603
to taste of1607
compressc1611
jumble1611
mix?1614
consort?1615
tastea1616
bumfiddle1630
ingressa1631
sheet1637
carnal1643
night-work1654
bump1669
bumble1680
frig?c1680
fuck1707
stick1707
screw1719
soil1722
to do over1730
shag1770
hump1785
subagitatec1830
diddle1879
to give (someone) onec1882
charver1889
fuckeec1890
plugc1890
dick1892
to make a baby1911
to know (a person) in the biblical sense1912
jazz1920
rock1922
yentz1924
roll1926
to make love1927
shtupa1934
to give (or get) a tumble1934
shack1935
bang1937
to have it off1937
rump1937
tom1949
to hop into bed (with)1951
ball1955
to make it1957
plank1958
score1960
naughty1961
pull1965
pleasurea1967
to have away1968
to have off1968
dork1970
shaft1970
bonk1975
knob1984
boink1985
fand-
1680 J. Dryden Kind Keeper i. 5 The Rogue wou'd bumble a Whore, I warrant him!
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018).
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n.11599
n.21621
n.31623
n.41633n.51839n.61846v.1c1405v.21533
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