I grew up in Maine, and “gawmy” was, and still is, a common adjective used to describe a clumsy person. Someone who is clumsy and awkward might be called “gawmy,” or more rarely a “gawm.” I can’t find the word in the dictionary, however, and can’t recall ever seeing it written, but it is certainly in use by a large portion of the population here in mid-coast Maine, especially the older population.
Anyone have any clues as to how this word should be spelled?
gormy
Probably related to British English “gormless”.
I have seen it spelled “gaumy,” though I can’t remember where. Merriam Webster online has the second definition of “gaumy” as dialect for clumsy. The word may still come from “gormless” though.
It would have to have come from a non-rhotic accent, which I guess isn’t too unlikely since there is one nearby–the so-called “Boston accent.”
But it would mean they didn’t realize that there was an R in it. So it’s unlikely they would spell it “gormy.”
The OP didn’t ask how they would spell it. The OP asked how it should be spelled.
gormy - (US and Britain, dialects, chiefly Northern England and New England) Clumsy, awkward, ungainly, klutzy.
or
gaumy - dialectal : untidy, slovenly, disordered; broadly : **awkward and clumsy **
I don’t understand. Are you saying that the Maine accentisn’t non-rhotic?
Yes, in London and the South of England only the gormless variant is used. As I recall it started to become popular in the late 1950s, certainly introduced from the North.