Clum

/ˈklʌm/ verb

Definition

A past tense form of climb used in some dialects or archaic English, though 'climbed' is now standard.

Etymology

From Old English climban. The form 'clum' appears to be a dialectal or obsolete strong past tense formation, before English standardized 'climbed' as the regular past tense.

Kelly Says

Words like 'clum' show that English once had many irregular verbs—'sing, sang, sung' and 'climb, clum' worked the same way, but as English simplified over time, most verbs became regular, making 'clum' obsolete except in historical texts and dialects.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.