Gormless began life as the English dialect word
gaumless, which was altered to the modern spelling when it expanded into wider use in the late 19th century. The origins of
gaumless are easy to understand; the word derives from a combination of the dialect noun
gaum, meaning "attention" or "understanding," and the suffix
-less. This
gaum has a related verb, also limited to dialect use, meaning "to pay attention to" and "to understand." Perhaps surprisingly, the four-letter
gaum has multiple additional dialectal uses that are etymologically unrelated to these. Also noun-and-verb pairs,
gaum means "a sticky or greasy mess" and "to smudge or smear especially with something sticky or greasy," as well as "a stupid doltish person" and "to behave in a stupid or awkward manner." Use of all of these pales in comparison to that of
gormless, however, which is most frequently seen in British English.
