Word Confusion: Clamber versus Clamor

Posted June 23, 2016 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
4 Nov 2022

The “music” of clamber and clamor caught my attention and was not a word confusion in someone’s story. Yes, I do get interested in “confusions” for their own sake. It’s not always a writer!

In this case, a hiker may make a clamor as he clambers up a cliff — all that noise of rocks falling, as he scrambles up, using his hands and feet to make it to the top.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.

Clamber	Clamor
A Climbing Wall is assumed to be Gede77~commonswiki (based on copyright claims). It is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons. — Three climbers clamber up this climbing wall.	Cacerolazo contra Maduro La Boyera, 15 April 2013, is Veronidae’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — A clamor of a protest in Venezuela, 2013.
Part of Grammar:
Singular Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for noun: clamber Gerund: clambering Third person present verb: clambers Past tense or past participle: clambered Present participle: clambering	Singular Noun ¹; Verb, intransitive ¹ & transitive ¹, ² Plural for noun: clamor Gerund: clamoring Third person present verb: clamors Past tense or past participle: clamored Present participle: clamoring [British] clamour
Noun: An awkward and laborious climb or movement Verb: [Usually followed by up, over, etc.] To climb Climb, move, or get in or out of something in an awkward and laborious way, typically using both hands and feet	Noun: A loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently ¹ A strongly expressed protest or demand, typically from a large number of people Verb, intransitive: [Of a group of people) Shout loudly and insistently ¹ Make a vehement protest or demand Make a public demand Verb, transitive: To move, influence, or force by outcry ¹ [Obsolete] To silence ²
Examples:
Noun: It was a clamber up the cliff path. Verb: I clambered out of the trench. We clambered over the rocks along the seashore. One of the men clambered to the top of the cabin.	Noun: The questions rose to a clamor. There was the growing public clamor for more policemen on the beat. A clamor outside woke them in the night. The city streets were filled with a horrible clamor. Verb, intransitive: The surging crowds clamored for attention. Scientists are clamoring for a ban on all chlorine substances. The public clamored for his impeachment. Verb, transitive: The people clamored him out of office. They clamored their demands at the meeting. A crowd clamored outside Frankenstein’s castle.
Derivatives:
Noun: clamberer	Adjective: clamorous Adverb: clamorously Noun: clamorer, clamourer, clamorist, clamorousness
History of the Word:
Middle English and probably from clamb, an obsolete past tense of climb.	Late Middle English via the Old French from the Latin clamor, from clamare meaning cry out. 1605–15 and is perhaps a spelling variant of clammer and an obsolete variant of clamber in the sense of to clutch, hence reduce to silence.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

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