clod

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a compact lump of earth, clay, or a similar material

   Heavy clods of wet soil clung to the roots of the uprooted plant.

2. 2
   noun

   an awkward, dull, or foolish person

   He felt like a clod after knocking over the carefully arranged display.

From Middle English clod, a form related to clot and to Germanic words for a lump or compact mass. The insulting sense compares a slow or awkward person to a heavy lump of earth.

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