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clod

[klod]
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noun
  1. a lump or mass, especially of earth or clay.
  2. a stupid person; blockhead; dolt.
  3. earth; soil.
  4. something of lesser dignity or value, as the body as contrasted with the soul: this corporeal clod.
  5. a part of a shoulder of beef.
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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

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2. boor, yokel, lout, oaf, dunce.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for clod

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • "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?

British Dictionary definitions for clod

clod

noun
  1. a lump of earth or clay
  2. earth, esp when heavy or in hard lumps
  3. Also called: clodpole, clod poll, clodpate a dull or stupid person
  4. a cut of beef taken from the shoulder
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Derived Formscloddy, adjectivecloddish, adjectivecloddishly, adverbcloddishness, noun

Word Origin

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

n.

"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."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper