Resembling a clam in appearance, behavior, or characteristics; closed up tightly or withdrawn.
Compound of 'clam' (shellfish) and Old English '-lic' (like/similar to). The metaphorical sense of being 'clamlike' (closed off, silent) derives from the clam's tendency to clamp its shell shut when threatened.
The phrase 'clam up' (meaning to stop talking) likely influenced 'clamlike' as a descriptor of withdrawn behavior—our language literalizes animal behaviors we observe in nature.
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