gauche (ɡəʊʃ)

—*adj*
	lacking ease of manner; tactless

[C18: French: awkward, left, from Old French gauchir to swerve, ultimately of Germanic origin; related to Old High German wankōn to stagger]

'gauchely

—*adv*

'gaucheness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

gauche

"awkward, tactless," 1751, from Fr. gauche "left" (replacing O.Fr. senestre in that sense), originally "awkward, awry," from M.Fr. gauchir "turn aside, swerve," from O.Fr. gaucher "trample, reel, walk clumsily," from Frank. *welkan "to full" (cf. O.H.G. wankon, O.N. vakka "to stagger, totter").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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