clammy

[klam-ee]

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adjective, clam·mi·er, clam·mi·est.

covered with a cold, sticky moisture; cold and damp: clammy hands.

sickly; morbid: She had a clammy feeling that something was wrong at home.

Origin of clammy

1350–1400; Middle English, equivalent to Middle English clam sticky, cold and damp + -y -y¹

Related formsclam·mi·ly, adverbclam·mi·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for clamminess

moisture, evaporation, drizzle, condensation, liquid, rain, humidity, water, damp, wetness, heaviness, thickness, dew, wet, sultriness, steam, dampness, dankness, vaporization

Examples from the Web for clamminess

Historical Examples of clamminess

But you are not troubled now with the clamminess of unabsorbed perspiration.
Common Science
Carleton W. Washburne
Try them with a fork, which must come out quite clean, and with no clamminess sticking to it.
Miss Leslie's Lady's New Receipt-Book
Eliza Leslie
More penetrating than its clamminess was the thought that Madame de Ferrier was out in it alone.
Lazarre
Mary Hartwell Catherwood
A clamminess, such as others feel at the approach of death, spread over my brow and neck.
Simon the Jester
William J. Locke
Though the root-meaning seems rather that of clamminess or adhesiveness, as found in Sansc.
The River-Names of Europe
Robert Ferguson

British Dictionary definitions for clamminess

clammy

adjective -mier or -miest

unpleasantly sticky; moistclammy hands

(of the weather, atmosphere, etc) close; humid

Derived Formsclammily, adverbclamminess, noun

Word Origin for clammy

C14: from Old English clǣman to smear; related to Old Norse kleima, Old High German kleimen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for clamminess

clammy

adj.

"soft and sticky," late 14c., probably from Middle English clam "viscous, sticky, muddy" (mid-14c.), from Old English clæm "mud, sticky clay," from Proto-Germanic *klaimaz "clay" (cf. Flemish klammig, Low German klamig "sticky, damp," Old English clæman "to smear, plaster;" cf. clay). With -y (2). Related: Clammily; clamminess.