What does cumbering mean?
Cumbering is the present participle and gerund of the verb 'cumber', meaning to burden, hinder, or weigh something down — typically by filling a space or loading a person with what is unwanted or superfluous. To say that boxes are 'cumbering the garage' or that debts are 'cumbering an estate' is to describe them as obstacles standing in the way of use, movement, or progress. The word is closely related to 'encumber', which has largely displaced it in modern usage, leaving 'cumber' and its forms sounding formal, literary, or slightly archaic. It carries a mildly negative connotation, implying clutter, obstruction, or dead weight rather than active harm. Its most famous appearance is in the King James Bible's parable of the barren fig tree — 'cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?' — a line that keeps the word alive for many readers today.
To burden, obstruct, or weigh down someone or something, often with unwanted or superfluous matter.
"Vines left unpruned went on cumbering the fence long after they stopped bearing fruit."
Chiefly literary; 'encumbering' is the usual modern equivalent.
The act or practice of burdening or obstructing; the state of being so burdened.
"The cumbering of the estate with mortgages delayed its sale for years."
Before 'encumber' took over English prose, writers simply said things were 'cumbered' — a word so old it appears in the King James Bible's parable of the barren fig tree.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cumbering
Cumbering derives from the verb 'cumber', which entered Middle English around the fourteenth century from Old French 'combrer', meaning to hamper or obstruct, itself formed on 'combre', a dam, weir, or barrier blocking a waterway. The ultimate root may lie in Gaulish, via Latin, though the details are debated; what is certain is that the core sense has always been obstruction. The same source gave rise to the prefixed form 'encumber' and the adjective 'cumbersome', both far more common today than the bare verb.
Related word forms
How cumbering is actually used
Formal and literary rather than colloquial; everyday speech favors 'encumber', 'clutter', or 'weigh down'. The verb survives most visibly in older texts, including the King James Bible, where 'why cumbereth it the ground?' is well known.
Easily confused with cumbering
Encumbering is the standard modern form meaning to burden or impede, while cumbering is an older, now chiefly literary variant of essentially the same verb.