How to pronounce verklempt

Verklempt (pronounced “fur-klempt”) means overcome with emotion, perhaps even choked or clenched by emotions. Verklempt is a Yiddish loanword.

It was borrowed from the Yiddish “farklempt,” with the meaning “depressed, grieving.” Interestingly, this was actually the past participle of “farklemen,” meaning “to grip, to press.” Merriam-Webster actually traces “verklempt” all the way back to coming from the Old English word “clam” or “clom.” This meant “bond,