clod

[klod]

See more synonyms for clod on Thesaurus.com

noun

a lump or mass, especially of earth or clay.
a stupid person; blockhead; dolt.
earth; soil.

something of lesser dignity or value, as the body as contrasted with the soul: this corporeal clod.
a part of a shoulder of beef.

Origin of clod

1400–50; late Middle English clodde, Old English clod- (in clodhamer fieldfare); see cloud

Related formsclod·di·ly, adverbclod·di·ness, nounclod·like, adjectiveclod·dy, adjective

Synonyms for clod

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2. boor, yokel, lout, oaf, dunce.

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

Related Words for clod

fool, oaf, dunce, dummy, imbecile, dope, lout, blockhead, clown, chump, simpleton, dumbbell, dimwit, boor, dolt, lame-brain

Examples from the Web for clod

Contemporary Examples of clod

One teenager recalled seeing a boy his age pitch a clod of dirt at a mounted [Union] officer.
David's Book Club 1861: The Civil War Awakening
David Frum
February 18, 2012
The News of the World and the Mirror both went with the punnier, " Hand of Clod."
World Cup Primer
Joshua Robinson
June 12, 2010

Historical Examples of clod

Tons of water fell on her decks, with the dull sound of the clod on the coffin.
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper
And thereupon he picked up a clod of earth and flung it at her.
Abbe Mouret's Transgression
Emile Zola
"In that it reduces a gentleman to the level of the clod," was the prompt answer.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini
Micheals picked up a clod of dirt and tossed it on the object.
The Leech
Phillips Barbee
What does it matter for one that was a girl and is now no more but a clod in Kilmalieu?
Gilian The Dreamer
Neil Munro

British Dictionary definitions for clod

clod

noun

a lump of earth or clay
earth, esp when heavy or in hard lumps
Also called: clodpole, clod poll, clodpate a dull or stupid person
a cut of beef taken from the shoulder

Derived Formscloddy, adjectivecloddish, adjectivecloddishly, adverbcloddishness, noun

Word Origin for clod

Old English clod- (occurring in compound words) lump; related to cloud

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 clod

"lump of earth or clay," Old English clod- (in clodhamer "the fieldfare," a kind of thrush, literally "field-goer"), from Proto-Germanic *kludda-, from PIE *gleu- (see clay).

Synonymous with collateral clot until meaning differentiated 18c. Meaning "person" ("mere lump of earth") is from 1590s; that of "blockhead" is from c.1600 (cf. clodpate, clodpoll, etc.). It also was a verb in Middle English, meaning both "to coagulate, form into clods" and "to break up clods after plowing."