Schlemiel

[2] The inept schlemiel is often presented alongside the unlucky schlimazel.

A Yiddish saying explains that "a schlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup and a schlimazel is the person it lands on".

Ernest Klein in his Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language suggests that the word comes from the Hebrew term shelo mo'il, meaning "useless".

[5] Another theory is that the word is derived from the name Shelumiel, an Israelite chieftain.

[7] The term was popularized by the name of Peter Schlemihl, the main character of a 19th century novella by Adelbert von Chamisso.