cack-handed

[ kak-han-did ]

adjective

, Chiefly British Informal.

1. clumsy; lacking skill with the hands.
2. left-handed.

cack-handed

/ ˌkækˈhændɪd /

adjective

1. left-handed
2. clumsy

Word History and Origins

Origin of cack-handed¹

First recorded in 1850–55; origin uncertain; perhaps from Old Norse keikr “bent backwards”; akin to Danish keite “left-handed”; perhaps from English dialect cack, keck “awkward” (of unknown origin). An obsolete noun sense “excrement” is found in Old English (in cac-hūs “latrine” ); the obsolete verb sense ( mid-15th century ) appears in Middle English cakken “to void excrement,” from Latin cacāre; akin to Greek kakkân “to void excrement,” Middle Irish cacc “dung,” and perhaps to Greek kakós “bad”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cack-handed¹

from dialect cack excrement, from the fact that clumsy people usually make a mess; via Middle Low German or Middle Dutch from Latin cacāre to defecate