gorm
To gawk; to stare or gapeTo gawk; to stare or gape.
Meaning
3 senses(UK, US, dialectal)To gawk; to stare or gape.
(colloquial, rare)To devour; to wolf down (food).
(Appalachia, New England, Southern US, dialectal, often)To make a mess of.
Origin
A variant of gaum, from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaumr, from Proto-Germanic *gaA variant of gaum, from Middle English gome, from Old Norse gaumr, from Proto-Germanic *gaumō; compare Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌿𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaumjan, “observe”), and see gaum for more. The -r- was not originally pronounced but was a device used by non-rhotic dialects of English to indicate vowel length or quality (compare Burma, Myanmar, and juggernaut).
From gormandize/gormandise.
Supposed by some to be related to gormless and/or gorming, and by others to be related to gorm (“smear”) (itself probably related to gum (“make sticky; impair the functioning of”)).
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Forms
gorms, gorming, gormed, gormedWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle