Meaning

noun unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training

noun the carriage of someone whose movements and posture are ungainly or inelegant

noun the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment)

originEtymology tree English clumsy Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English clumsiness From clumsy + -ness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0