bumbledom

English

Etymology

From Mr. Bumble, a character in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, +‎ -dom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʌmbl̩dm̩/

Noun

bumbledom (countable and uncountable, plural bumbledoms)

1. bureaucracy; mannerisms characteristic of pompous, arrogant or pretentious officials.
   • 1942, G.M. Trevelyan, Illustrated English Social History‎, Digitized edition, Longman's Green and Co., published 2003:

     With the meekness went a strain of mild obstinacy exquisitely calculated to infuriate the self-important bumbledom of that time, as when the Friends refused to remove their hats before the Court that was to try them.