cumbrous

English

Etymology

cumber +‎ -ous

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmbɹəs/

Adjective

cumbrous (comparative more cumbrous, superlative most cumbrous)

1. Unwieldy because of its weight; cumbersome.
   • (Can we date this quote by Jonathan Swift and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     He sunk beneath the cumbrous weight.

   • (Can we date this quote by De Quincey and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     that cumbrous and unwieldy style which disfigures English composition so extensively

   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, chapter 1, in History of Western Philosophy:

     In the course of thousands of years, this cumbrous system developed into alphabetic writing.

2. (obsolete) Giving trouble; vexatious.
   • (Can we date this quote by Edmund Spenser and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     a cloud of cumbrous gnats