fumble

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• /ˈfʌmbəl/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Northern-England: /ˈfʊmbəl/
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• rhymes with -ʌmbəl
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• CMU ARPABET: F AH1 M B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From late Middle English, from Low German fummeln, fommeln, fammeln (German fummeln), or Dutch fommelen. Or, perhaps from a Scandinavian/North Germanic source; compare related Old Norse fálma, Icelandic fálma, Danish fumle, especially Swedish fumla, famla, with variants: fumbla (“fumble”), fambla (“famble”), related to Swedish fim, fem (Danish fim, Norwegian fim, feima), with a root meaning of “cover, coating of foam or figuratively ditto”, cognate to German Feim (“surf”) and English foam. Possibly has (a more or less unconscious) connection to fathom (via Old Norse faðmr, Swedish famn) in the sense of “embrace”. The ultimate origin for either could perhaps be imitative of fumbling. Or, from Proto-Indo-European *pal- (“to shake, swing”), see also Latin palpo (“to pat, touch softly”), and possibly Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan (“to feel”).

Blend of fool + crumble.

78 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• German: Fumble — ball that has been dropped
• Assamese: খেপিওৱা (khepiüa) — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Bulgarian: бърникам (bǎrnikam) — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Chinese Mandarin: 摸索 (mōsuǒ, mōsuo) — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Danish: fumle — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Esperanto: fuŝpalpi — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Finnish: hamuilla — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Finnish: hapuilla — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• French: tripoter — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Galician: tentar — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• German: fummeln — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Hungarian: babrál — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Hungarian: matat — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Italian: giocherellare — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Italian: armeggiare — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Japanese: いじり回す (ijirimawasu) — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Māori: pakihawa — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Norwegian Bokmål: fomle — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Russian: мять (mjatʹ) — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Russian: тереби́ть (terebítʹ) — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Scots: fummle — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Spanish: manosear — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Spanish: tanatear — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Spanish: meter la pata — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Swedish: fjockla — to handle nervously or awkwardly
• Assamese: খেপিওৱা (khepiüa) — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Bulgarian: тършувам (tǎršuvam) — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Finnish: hamuilla — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Finnish: hapuilla — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• French: tâtonner — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Hungarian: kotorászik — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Hungarian: keresgél — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Hungarian: tapogatózik — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Hungarian: tapogat — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Icelandic: fálma — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Indonesian: meraba-raba — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Italian: annaspare — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Italian: frugare — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Japanese: 探り回す (sagarimawasu) — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Kabuverdianu: palpa — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Kabuverdianu: palpá — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Māori: whāwhā — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Māori: hārau — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Polish: szperać — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Russian: нащу́пывать (naščúpyvatʹ) — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Russian: ша́рить (šáritʹ) — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Scots: fummle — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Spanish: manosear — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Spanish: tanatear — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Swedish: famla — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Ukrainian: намацувати (namacuvaty) — to grope awkwardly in trying to find something
• Finnish: munata — to blunder uncertainly
• Finnish: möhlätä — to blunder uncertainly
• Hungarian: ügyetlenkedik — to blunder uncertainly
• Hungarian: akadozik — to blunder uncertainly
• Hungarian: hebeg — to blunder uncertainly
• Hungarian: habog — to blunder uncertainly
• Hungarian: hebeg-habog — to blunder uncertainly
• Hungarian: dadog — to blunder uncertainly
• Italian: farfugliare — to blunder uncertainly
• Italian: balbettare — to blunder uncertainly
• Māori: ninipa — to blunder uncertainly
• Māori: pakihawa — to blunder uncertainly
• Russian: мя́млить (mjámlitʹ) — to blunder uncertainly
• Scots: fummle — to blunder uncertainly
• Spanish: titubear — to blunder uncertainly
• Swedish: fumla sig — to blunder uncertainly
• Swedish: fumla — to blunder uncertainly
• Bulgarian: изпускам (izpuskam) — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Finnish: sählätä — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• German: patzen — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Hungarian: elejt — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Hungarian: kiejt — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Spanish: perder — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Spanish: soltar — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Spanish: dejar caer — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Spanish: escaparse — to drop a ball or a baton etc
• Spanish: cantar — to drop a ball or a baton etc