Cumbereth

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Weighs down or impedes the movement or function of something with excess or unwanted material
2. Loads with something that slows progress or makes action more difficult
3. Encumbers with a heavy or restrictive load that prevents free or easy motion

Etymology: In Luke 13:7 of the King James Bible, a gardener asks, "why cumbereth it the ground?" about a barren fig tree. The form is the archaic third-person singular of "cumber," meaning to take up room uselessly, to block or burden. The tree is accused of doing exactly that: occupying ground that could bear fruit. The verb came into English from Old French "encombrer," "to block up," built on "combre," a barrier or obstruction. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, and some scholars have proposed a Celtic source. The "-eth" ending is an older verb form that the King James translators kept, so the word already sounded archaic to readers of that text. Its descendant "cumbersome" keeps the original sense of being an obstacle.