# The proper spelling of "gawmy" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905 "2015-09-04T14:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/1 "2015-09-04T14:49:43Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/2 "2015-09-04T14:51:52Z")
gormy ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/3 "2015-09-04T14:55:22Z")
Probably related to British English “gormless”. > **[Oxford Languages | The Home of Language Data](https://languages.oup.com/)** > > Explore Oxford Languages, the home of world-renowned language data. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/4 "2015-09-04T18:11:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/5 "2015-09-04T18:34:20Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > gormy 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.” ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/6 "2015-09-04T18:42:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > 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](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gormy) - (US and Britain, dialects, chiefly Northern England and New England) **Clumsy, awkward, ungainly, klutzy**. or [gaumy](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaumy) - dialectal : untidy, slovenly, disordered; broadly : \*\*awkward and clumsy \*\* ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/7 "2015-09-04T19:38:39Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > 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.” I don’t understand. Are you saying that the [Maine accent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzm5qOjx96I)isn’t non-rhotic? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-spelling-of-gawmy/729905/8 "2015-09-04T20:02:41Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > The OP didn’t ask how they would spell it. The OP asked how it should be spelled. > > [gormy](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gormy) - (US and Britain, dialects, chiefly Northern England and New England) **Clumsy, awkward, ungainly, klutzy**. > > or > [gaumy](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaumy) - dialectal : untidy, slovenly, disordered; broadly : \*\*awkward and clumsy \*\* 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.