clammy

Etymology

From Middle English clam (“viscous, sticky; slimy”) + -y, from Old English clǣman (“to smear, bedaub”). Compare German klamm (“clammy”) and klemmen (“to be stuck, stick”). See also clam.

adj

  1. Cold and damp, usually referring to hands or palms.
    His hands were clammy from fright.
  2. (medicine) The quality of normal skin signs, epidermis that is neither diaphoretic nor dry.

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