gauche

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Awkward or lacking in social graces; bumbling; apt to make gaffes.
  2. Skewed, not plane.
  3. Having a torsion angle of 60°.

Pronunciation

/ɡəʊʃ/ /ɡoʊʃ/ /ɡaʊʃ/ en-us-gauche.ogg

Word forms

gauche more gauche most gauche

Etymology

Borrowed from French gauche (“left, awkward”), from gauchir (“to veer, turn”), from Old French gaucher (“to trample, walk clumsily”), from Frankish *walkan (“to full, trample”), from Proto-Germanic *walkaną (“to full, roll up”). Akin to Old High German walchan (“to knead”), Old English wealcian (“to roll up, curl”) and English walk, Old Norse valka (“to drag about”). More at walk.

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