club-moss 
fumes of a few of its leaves, which were dried and thrown 
into the fire. It had to be gathered with a curious magi- 
cal ceremony. C. Elian, Origins of Eng. Hist., p. 260. 
Club-room (klub'rom), n. The apartment in 
which a club meets. 
clubroot (klub'rot), w. A disease of the roots of 
cabbage, consisting of large swellings, caused 
by the myxomycetous fungus Plasmodiophom 
Srassicai. 
club-rush (klub'rush),x. 1. A plant of the genus 
Scir/ms. 2. The cattail reed, Typlia latifolia. 
club-Shaped (klub'shapt), a. Shaped like a 
club; clavate. 
club-skate (klub'skat), w. [< eMP + skate. 
The first skate of the kind made with heel-but- 
ton and clamp for the sole was named the "New 
York Club skate," after an organization then 
existing (I860).] A skate the framework of 
which is made of light iron or steel, with clamps, 
springs, or screws, to fasten it securely to the 
shoe. 
clubster (klub'ster), n. [< club* + -ster.'] A 
frequenter of clubs ; a boon companion. 
He was DO clubster listed among good fellows. 
Baijer North, Lord Guilford, I. 145. 
club-topsail (klub'top // sal, -si), n. Naut., a 
large gaff-topsail, used in yachts, having a small 
spar called a club bent to its foot so as to ex- 
tend it beyond the end of the gaff. The head of 
the sail is also extended above the masthead by a light 
spar called a twisting-pole, .See clubi, n., 7. 
cluck (kluk), v. [Also dial, dutch; earlier usu- 
ally clock (see clock 1 ); < ME. clokken, < AS. 
cloecian = MD. klocken, D. klokken = MLG. 
klucken, LG. klukken = MHG. klucken, also 
glucken, G. gluckcn = Dan. klukke = Sw. klucka 
= W. clwcian, clocian = L. glocire, later *gl<>- 
ciare (cf. glocidare and gluttire, cited from Fes- 
tus) (> It. chiocciare, croeciare = Sp. clocar, 
cloquear, coclear = Pr. cloquiar = OF. cloucer, 
gloucer, later glosser, glousser, F. glousser), cluck 
as a hen (cf. It. chioccia = Sp. clueea = MLG. 
klttcke = MHG. klucke, G. klucke, glucke, a brood- 
ing hen ; E. dial, deck 1 , hatch, deck 2 , cluck), = 
Gr. KAucastv, cluck as a hen; cf. Gr. K/.<5fe<v, 
croak as a jackdaw, groan in disapprobation ; 
Hind, kurkuraiia, cluck, cackle, murmur: all 
imitative words, more or less varied, which may 
be compared, as to form, with chuck 1 , click'-, 
clack, crake, croak, cock 1 .] I. intrans. To utter 
the call or cry of a brooding hen or a hen with 
young chicks. 
The lines were only a part of the sound of his wife's 
tongue, distracting him no more than the ducking of the 
maternal hens about the house. 
W. it. Baiter, New Timothy, p. 56. 
II. trans. To call or incite by clucking, as a 
hen her chicks. 
When she (poor hen !), fond of no second brood, 
Has duck'd thee to the wars. Shak., Cor., v. 3. 
cluck (kluk), n. [< cluck, v. In second sense, 
cf . click 1 , .] 1 . A sound uttered by a hen when 
broody, or in calling her chicks. 2. Same as 
click 1 , 2. 
ducking-hen (kluk'ing-hen), n. A name in 
Jamaica of the crying-bird, carau, or limpkin, 
Aramus pictus. 
cludiform (klo'di-form), a. [< ML. "cludus (a 
reflex of OF. clou, < L. clavus, a nail : see clove* 
and clavus) + L. forma, shape.] Nail-shaped ; 
cuneiform : specifically applied to the charac- 
ters of the ancient inscriptions of Babylonia. 
Assyria, and Persia. See arrow-headed and cu- 
neiform. [Rare.] 
clue, clew (klo), n. [< ME. clewe, clowe, elite, < 
AS. cliwen, clywen, cleowen (once clywe) = D. 
kluwen, formerly also klauwe, klouwe, = LG. 
kluwe, klouwen = OHG. chliuwa, chliwa, MHG. 
klimee, with dim. OHG. chliuwelin, MHG. kliu- 
welin, and kliuwel, dissimilated kniulin, kniuwel, 
G. knauel (> Dan. nogle, neut., clue), a ball, a 
ball of thread; cf. L. glucre, draw together, 
Skt. gldus, a ball ; perhaps akin to L. glomus, 
a clue, a ball of thread (see glomerate), and 
gldbus, a ball (see globe). The naut. senses 
are prob. of D. origin.] 1. A ball or skein of 
thread or yarn. 
Steal out, all alone, to the kiln, and, darkling, throw into 
the pot a due of blue yarn. Burns, Halloween, Notes. 
2. The thread or yarn that is wound into the 
form of a ball ; thread in general. 
He [Theseus] formed that ingenious device of his due, 
which led directly through all the windings of the laby- 
rinth. Bacon, Political Fables, x. 
It is decreed 
That I must die with her ; our due of life 
Was spun together. 
Massinger, Virgin-Martyr, iv. 3. 
1062 
clumse 
Hence 3. Anything that guides or directs clump 2 (klump;, . i. [Prob. < dump 1 , n. ; cf . 
one in an intricate case ; a guide or key to the MLG. klumpe, klompe, a wooden shoe, clog, :i 
solution of a puzzle or problem, or the unravel- var. form of the noun. Cf . clamjA.] To walk 
ing of a plot or mystery: in allusion to the heavily and clumsily. 
mythological story that Theseus was guided clump-block (klump'blok), n. In mech., a 
by a clue of thread through the Cretan laby- strongly made block with a thick sheave and a 
rinth. large opening. See cut under block. 
They are only to be understood and traced by the dm clump-boot (klump'bot), . [< clump 1 + boot*. 
of experience. Bacon, Political Fables, x., Expl. Cf. D. klomji, a clump, also a wooden shoe.] 
l unravel what otherwise would seem ver A heav boot for rouh wear. 
dumprc (?), < 
AS.cfyjj>re,alump: see clump 1 .'] Alarge piece; 
a lump; in coal-mining, a large mass of fallen 
rock. [Forest of Dean, Eng.] 
. . 
This due will unravel what otherwise would seem very A heavy boot for rough wear. 
inconsistent in my father's domestic character. dumper 1 (klum'per), n. [< ME. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, v. z. ' 
4. A measure of yarn or hemp, 4,800 yards. 
5. Naut., a lower corner of a square sail or the 
aftmost corner of a fore-and-aft sail Clues of a clumper 1 t (klum'per), r. t. [Freq. of verb 
hammock, the combination of small lines by which it is 
suspended. From Clue to earing (l(.), from the bot- 
ton; to the top ; from one end to the other ; throughout ; 
entirely. 
clue, clew (klo), v. t. ; pret. and pp. clued, clewed, 
ppr. cluing, clewing. [< clue, dew, .] 1. Naut., 
to haul up to the yard (the lower corners of a 
"clump 1 , or ult. < dumper 1 , n. ; cf. Dan. klumpe, 
Sw. klimpa, clot, coagulate; from the noun: 
see chimp 1 .] To form into clumps or masses. 
Vapours . . . 
Clumper'd in balls of clouds. 
Dr. II. More, Infinity of Worlds, St. 92. 
Cf. 
topsail, topgallantsail, or royal) by means of clumper 2 (klum'per), n. [< clump* + H. 
the clue-lines : used with up. ML<1 klumpe ,kompe, a wooden shoe, clog: see 
cZrai>2.] A thick, heavy shoe : usually in the 
" Here comes Cape Horn !' said the chief mate ; and we ,_, rp-,v,r T^n. 1 
had hardly time to haul down and dew up before it was P lu L*^ ^ n g- J 
upon us. R. 11. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 28. clumpertont, n. [Also domperton; appar. < 
2. To direct, as by a clue or thread. Bean, and dumper 1 + -ton, as in simpleton. Cf. clumpse = 
clumse.] A clown. 
clue-garneMklo'gar'net) ,* Naut a .pur- 
chase, consisting of two single blocks and a 
Mnisheii, 1617 ; Coles, 1717. 
i-l *" i 
and foot-rope of the sails are spliced into eyes in the clue 
iron, and the tacks and sheets secured to it. 
clue-jigger (klo'jig'er), n. Naut., a small pur- 
chase for tricing up the corners of topsails and 
courses forward of the yards, so that the sails 
may be easily furled. 
clue-line (klo'lin; colloq. klo'lin), w. Naut., a 
purchase or single rope for hauling up to the 
yards the clues of topsails, topgallantsails, 
and royals. 
clumH (klum), n. and a. [Early mod. E. clumme,< 
ME. dum, dom, silence; cf. AS. clumian (once) 
ant forms of clumse. 
clumps 2 (klumps), . [Appar. orig. pi. of dump 1 , 
.] A game of questions and answers. The 
players are divided into two parties ; two players, one 
fro 
rom each side, select an object which the others try to 
discover by questioning them, the answers being "yes" 
or "no," and each party questioning that one of the two 
who belongs to the opposite side. The side that guesses 
the object first takes one player from the other side, and 
this continues until all the players of one party but one are 
taken by the other, when that one is beaten or "clumps." 
clumpy (klum'pi), a. [< clump 1 + -y 1 ; = Sw. 
klumpig, clumsy.] Consisting of clumps ; mas- 
.. sive; lumpy. 
mutter. Imitative; cf. mum.'} I. .. Silence: clumse (klums), r. ; pret. and pp. dumsed, ppr. 
also used as an exclamation to command silence, dimming. [< ME. clumscn, elomsen, doumsen,( 
Yef [if] ye me wylleth yhere [hear], habbeth amang you 
clow and reste. Ayenbile of Invryt, p. 266. 
Now, pater noster. "dum," quod Nicolay, 
And "dum," quod Jon, and "dum," quod Alisoun. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 452. 
II. a. Silent; glum. 
He is ... dumme, and is more surly to be spoken with 
than ever he was before. 
Xashe, Lenten Stuffe (Harl. Misc., VI. 165). 
clum 2 (klum). An obsolete or dialectal preterit 
of climb. 
clum 3 (klum), f. t. ; pret. and pp. dummed, ppr. 
clumming. [Cf. clumse.'] 1. To handle roughly. 
2. To clutch. [Prov. Eng. in both senses.] 
Rome in their gripyng tallants clum a ball of brasse. 
A Herring's Tayle, 1598. 
clumbent. Obsolete strong preterit plural of 
climb. 
clumber (klum'ber), n. A kind of spaniel val- 
ued as a retriever. 
clump 1 (klump), i. [< ME. "clump (AS. only in 
longer form clympre (var. clymppe), a lump (of 
metal); cf. dumper 1 ) = D. klomp = LG. klump 
(>G. klump, Tdumpe, klumpen) = Dan. Sw. klump, 
a clump, lump, etc. (prob. = Icel. klumba, as- 
similated klubba, a club, > E. dub 1 ); cf. Dan. 
klimp, a clod, = Sw. klimp, a clod, lump, dump- 
ling, Sw. klamp, a clump. The resemblance of 
clump to lump is accidental, and its connection 
with damp 1 , dam 1 , clumse, etc., remote and un- 
certain.] 1. A thick, short, unformed piece of 
wood or other solid substance; a shapeless 
mass. 2. A cluster; a small, closely gathered 
group : used especially of trees or shrubs, but 
sometimes of other things and of persons. 
He could number the fields in every direction, and could 
tell how many trees there were in the most distant clump. 
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, p. 134. 
Norw. klumsa, make speechless, palsy, prevent 
from speaking, silence, muzzle (an animal), 
also klumra, kluma, klumme, and in comp. for- 
klumsa, with same sense, whence khtmsad, pp., 
also klumsa, speechless, palsied, by a spasm or 
by fear, or (as sometimes thought) by witchery, 
= Sw. dial, (with strong pp. suffix) klummsen, 
klumsun, klomsen, benumbed with cold; with 
formative -s (or, in the form kluma, directly; 
cf. D. kleumen, and in comp. i-er-kleumen, ver- 
klomen (= LG. ver-klamen = G. ver-klomen), be 
numb with cold a secondary form, with pp. as 
adj., verkleunul = LG. rerklamt, equiv. to G. ver- 
klommen (with strong suffix), benumbed with 
cold) from an assumed pp. ("klumen) of a verb 
("kliman) from the pret. of which (*klam) is de- 
rived E. dam 1 with its cognates, the orig. sense 
being 'to stick ; adhere ': the word clumse, with 
its more familiar deriv. clumsy, being thus in 
relation with clam 1 , dam 2 , clem*, etc. : see these 
words.] I.t trans. To numb, benumb, stiffen, 
or paralyze with cold or fear. 
That clowde clounwed vs clene 
That come schynand so clere, 
Such syght was never sene 
To seke all sydis seere. York Playg, p. 191. 
Fadres bihelden not sones with clumgid hindis. 
Wydif, Jer. xlvii. 3 (Purv.X 
He that will noght thyuk of this . . . 
He is outher d&msed [L. hebes} or wode [crazy]. 
Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 1. 1651. 
II. intrans. 1. To be numbed, benumbed, 
stiffened, or paralyzed with cold or fear. 
" Haue, Haukyn I " quod Pacyence, " and ete this whan the 
hungreth, 
Or whan thow doiiwest for colde or clyngest for drye." 
Pien Plowman (B), liv. 50. 
2. To die of thirst. [Shetland.] 
[Now only prov.] 
I observed many times daily for more than a fortnight clumse (klums), a. and . [Also clumpse, clumps; 
some large dumps of heartsease growing in my garden, 
before I saw a single humble-bee at work. 
Darurin, Cross and Self Fertilisation, p. 124. 
3. A thick sole secured to an ordinary boot- 
sole by springs or by cement. 4. A small 
spiral curl of hair pressed flat between the disk- 
shaped ends of a pair of crimping-tongs, so as 
to he close to the head. 5. A bivalve mollusk 
of the family Mactrida;, Lutrarm elliptica. It has 
a broad flattish shell about 5 Inches long and 3 inches 
high. It lives chiefly in muddy estuaries, buried a foot or 
two deep. 
< Norw. klumsa, speechless, palsied, benumbed; 
or short for dumsed, pp. of clumse : see clumse, 
v.'] I. a. 1. Benumbed, as with cold. [Now 
only prov. Eng.] 
Entombi [F.], stonied, benummed, clumpse, asleep. 
Cotgravc. 
Pole [F.], dumpse, benummed, or swollen with cold. 
Cotgrave. 
2. Idle ; lazy; loutish. [Prov. Eng.] 3. Plain- 
dealing; honest. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
II. n. A stupid fellow ; a numskull. 'Hailey. 
