Online Etymology Dictionary

claw (n.): O.E. clawu, earlier clea, "claw, talon," from P.Gmc. *klawo (cf. O.Fris. klawe "claw, hoe," M.Du. klouwe, O.H.G. klawa, Ger. Klaue), from PIE *g(e)l-eu- from base *gel- "to make round, clench." The verb is from O.E. clawian. Related: Clawed; clawing.
clay: O.E. clæg "stiff, sticky earth; clay," from W.Gmc. *klaijaz (cf. O.H.G. kliwa "bran," Ger. Kleie, O.Fris. klai "clay," O.S. klei, M.Du. clei, Dan. klæg; O.E. clæman, O.N. kleima, O.H.G. kleiman "to cover with clay"), from PIE base *glei- "to stick together" (cf. Gk. gloios "sticky matter;" L. gluten "glue;" O.C.S. glina "clay," glenu "slime, mucus;" O.Ir. glenim "I cleave, adhere"). Clay pigeon is from 1888.
claymore: 1772, "two-edged broadsword of ancient Scottish Highlanders," from Gael. claidheamh mor "great sword," from claidheb "sword" (from PIE base *kel- "to strike;" see holt) + mor "great" (see more). An antiquarian word made familiar again by Scott's novels; modern military application to pellet-scattering anti-personnel mine is first attested 1962.
clean (adj.): O.E. clæne "clean, pure," from W.Gmc. *klainoz "clear, pure" (cf. O.S. kleni "dainty, delicate," O.Fris. klene "small," O.H.G. kleini "delicate, fine, small," Ger. klein "small;" English preserves the original Germanic sense), from PIE base *gel- "to gleam" (cf. Gk. glene "eyeball," O.Ir. gel "bright"). O.E. also had an adverbial form, "clearly, fully, entirely." As an adj., replaced in higher senses by clear, pure, but as a verb (mid-15c.) it has largely usurped what once belonged to cleanse. The adj. clean in the sense of "innocent" is from c.1300; that of "not lewd" is from 1867; that of "free of drug addiction" is 1950s.
cleaner: mid-15c., agent noun from clean. To take (someone) to the cleaners "get all of (someone's) money" is from 1932.
cleanliness: early 15c., from cleanly + -ness.
Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness. [John Wesley, Sermon "On Dress," c.1791]
cleanly: O.E. clænlic "pure, excellent," from clæne (see clean).
cleanse: O.E. clænsian "to cleanse, purge, purify, chasten, justify," from W.Gmc. *klainson, from *klainoz (see clean). Despite its modern spelling (16c.), it retains its M.E. pronunciation. Related: Cleansed.
cleanser: O.E. clænsere "priest," agent noun from clænsian (see cleanse). Meaning "thing that cleanses" is from late 14c.
cleansing: O.E. clænsunge "cleansing, purifying, castigation; chastity, purity," noun of action from the root of cleanse. As a prp. adj., attested from c.1300.
cleanup: also clean-up, 1856, "act of cleaning up," from clean + up. Meaning "a profit" is recorded from 1878. Verbal phrase clean up "make a large profit" is from 1929. The adj., in the baseball sense, is recorded by 1910.
clear: late 13c., "bright," from O.Fr. cler "clear" (of sight and hearing), "light, bright, shining; sparse" (12c., Mod.Fr. clair), from L. clarus "clear, loud," of sounds; in transf. use, of sights, "bright, distinct;" also "illustrious, famous, glorious" (cf. It. chiaro, Sp. claro), from PIE *kle-ro-, from base *kele- "to shout" (see claim). The sense evolution involves an identification of the spreading of sound and the spreading of light (cf. English loud, used of colors; Ger. hell "clear, bright, shining," of pitch, "distinct, ringing, high"). Of the weather, from late 14c.; of meanings or explanations, c.1300. (An O.E. word for this was sweotol "distinct, clear, evident".) Sense of "free from encumbrance," apparently nautical, developed c.1500. The verb is late 14c., "to enlighten;" meaning "to leap clear over" is first attested 1791. Phrase in the clear attested from 1715.
clearance: 1560s, "action of clearing," from clear + -ance. Meaning "a clear space" is from 1788. Meaning "approval, permission" (esp. to land or take off an aircraft) is from 1944, Amer.Eng.; national security sense recorded from 1948. Clearance sale attested by 1843.
clearing: "land cleared of wood," 1670s, from noun use of prp. of clear.
clearinghouse: 1832, from clearing + house. The original was established 1775 in London by the bankers for the adjustment of their mutual claims for checks and bills; later the word was extended to similar institutions.
clearly: c.1300, of vision and speech, from clear + -ly (2). Meaning "evidently" is from 1560s; as a parenthetical expression in argument, "it is clear," recorded from 1867.
cleat: c.1300, clete "wedge," from O.E. *cleat "a lump," from W.Gmc. *klaut "firm lump" (cf. M.L.G. klot, klute, M.Du. cloot, Du. kloot, O.H.G. kloz, Ger. kloß "clod, dumpling"), from PIE base *gleu- "to form into a ball" (see clay). In M.E., a wedge of wood bolted to a spar, etc., to keep it from slipping. Meaning "thin metal plate for shoes, etc." is c.1825.
cleavage: 1816, in geology, "action of splitting (rocks or gems) along natural fissures," from cleave (1) + -age. General meaning "action or state of cleaving or being cleft" is from 1867. The sense of "cleft between a woman's breasts in low-cut clothing" is first recorded 1946, when it was defined in a "Time" magazine article [Aug. 5] as the "Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections."
cleave (1): "to split," O.E. cleofan "to split, separate" (class II strong verb, past tense cleaf, past participle clofen), from P.Gmc. *kleubanan (cf. O.S. klioban, O.N. kljufa, Dan. klöve, Du. kloven, O.H.G. klioban, Ger. klieben "to cleave, split"), from PIE base *gleubh- "to cut, slice" (see glyph). Past tense form clave is recorded in Northern writers from 14c. and was used with both verbs (see cleave (2)), apparently by analogy with other ME strong verbs. Clave was common to c.1600 and still alive at the time of the King James Bible; weak past tense cleaved for this verb also emerged in 14c.; cleft is still later. The p.p. cloven survives, though mostly in compounds.
cleave (2): "to adhere," O.E. clifian, from W.Gmc. *klibajanan (cf. O.S. klibon, O.H.G. kliban, Du. kleven, O.H.G. kleben, Ger. kleben "to stick, cling"), from PIE *gloi- "to stick" (see clay). The confusion was less in O.E. when cleave (1) was a class 2 strong verb; but it has grown since cleave (1) weakened, which may be why both are largely superseded by stick and split.
cleaver: late 15c., "one who splits," agent noun from cleave (1). Originally "one who splits boards with a wedge instead of sawing;" attested as a surname from early 14c. Meaning "butcher's chopper" is from 1570s.
clechy: also cleche, from Fr. cléché (17c.), from L. *clavicatus "key-holed," or clavicella "little key," from clavis "key" (see slot (2)).
cledonism: "avoidance of words deemed unlucky," from Gk. kledon "omen," also "report, fame" (see claim) + -ism.
clef: 1570s in a musical sense, from M.Fr. clef (12c.) "key, musical clef, trigger," from a figurative or transferred use of classical L. clavis, which had only the lit. sense "key" (see slot (2)). In the Middle Ages, the Latin word was used in the Guidonian system for "the lowest note of a scale," which is its basis (cf. keynote). The most common is the treble or G-clef, denoting the G above middle C on the piano.
cleft (n.): 1570s, altered (by influence of cleft, new weak pp. of cleave (1)), from M.E. clift (early 14c.), from O.E. geclyft (adj.) "split, cloven," from P.Gmc. *kluftis (cf. O.H.G., Ger. kluft, Dan. kløft "cleft"), from PIE *gleubh- (see glyph).
clematis: plant genus, 1550s, from L. Clematis, from Gk. klematis, name of some kind of climbing or trailing plant (probably the periwinkle), dim. of klema "vine-branch, shoot or twig broken off" (for grafting), from klan "to break" (see clastic).
clemency: 1550s, "mildness or gentleness shown in exercise of authority," from L. clementia "calmness, gentleness," from clemens "calm, mild," related to -clinare "to lean" (see lean (v.)) + participial suffix -menos (also in alumnus). For sense evolution, cf. inclined in secondary meaning "disposed favorably." Meaning "mildness of weather or climate" is 1660s (a sense also in Latin); clement (adj.) is older in both senses, late 15c. and 1620s respectively, but now is used only in negation and only of the weather.
clement: mid-15c., "mild," of persons (attested from early 13c. as a surname), from O.Fr. clement, from L. clementem (nom. clemens) "mild, placid, gentle" (see clemency). Of weather, 1620s. Taken as a name by several early popes and popular in England as a masc. given name from mid-12c., also in fem. form Clemence.
clementine: "cross between tangerine and sour orange," 1926, from Fr. clémentine (1902). Originally an accidental hybrid said to have been discovered by (and named for) Father Clement Rodier in the garden of his orphanage in Misserghin, near Oran, Algeria. Introduced into U.S. and grown at Citrus Research Center in Riverside, Calif., as early as 1909. Earlier the word was used as an adj. in reference to other Clements, especially of the edition of the Vulgate issued due to Pope Clement V (1309-14).
clench: O.E. beclencan "to hold fast, make cling," causative of clingan (see cling); cf. stink/stench. Related: Clenched; clenching. The noun is attested from 1799.
Cleopatra: common name of sister-queens in Egypt under the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The name is Gk., probably meaning "key to the fatherland," from khleis "key" + patris. The famous queen was the seventh of that name.
cleptomaniac: variant of kleptomaniac (see kleptomania).
clerestory: early 15c., probably from clere "clear," in a sense "light, lighted" (see clear), and story, though this sense of that word is not otherwise found so early. Originally the upper part of the nave, transepts, and choir of a large church.
clergy: c.1200, clergie "office or dignity of a clergyman," from two O.Fr. words: 1. clergié "clerics, learned men," from M.L. clericatus, from L.L. clericus (see clerk); 2. clergie "learning, knowledge, erudition," from clerc, also from L.L. clericus. Meaning "persons ordained for religious work" is from c.1300.
clergyman: 1570s, from clergy + man. Clergywoman is 1670s.
cleric: 1620s, from L.L. clericus "clergyman, priest" (4c.), lit. "belonging to the clerus;" from Eccles. Gk. klerikos, "belonging to the clergy," originally "pertaining to an inheritance," but in Christian use "pertaining to the ecclesiastical order," from kleros "lot, allotment, piece of land, heritage," which was in Church use from 2c. (see clerk). A word taken up in English after clerk took its modern meaning.
clerical: 1590s, "pertaining to the clergy," from cleric + -al (1). Meaning "pertaining to clerks" is from 1798.
clerihew: humorous verse form, 1928, from English humorist Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), who described it in a book published 1906 under the name E. Clerihew.
clerk: O.E. clerc, from L.L. clericus "a priest," from Gk. klerikos (adj.) in church jargon "of the clergy," derived from kleros "lot, inheritance" (originally "a shard or wood chip used in casting lots," related to klan "to break;" see holt), used by early Greek Christians for matters relating to ministry based on Deut. xviii:2 reference to Levites as temple assistants: "Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance," kleros being used as a translation of Heb. nahalah "inheritance, lot." If the word choice was meant to remind clerics of anything, however, the reminder was lost with the knowledge of ancient Greek. Or else it is from the use of the word in Acts i.17. Modern bureaucratic usage is from c.1500, a reminder of the dark ages when clergy alone could read and write. As a verb from 1550s. Related: Clerked, clerking, clerkship.
Cleveland: city in Ohio, U.S., laid out 1796 by Gen. Moses Cleaveland (1754–1806) and later named for him. His descendants included U.S. President Grover Cleveland (1837–1908). The family name is from place names in England based on M.E. cleove, a variant of cliff.
clever: late 16c., "handy, dexterous," from E.Anglian dialectal cliver "expert at seizing," perhaps from E.Fris. klufer or Norwegian dialectic klover "ready, skillful," and perhaps influenced by O.E. clifer "claw, hand" (early usages seem to refer to dexterity); extension to intellect is first recorded 1704.
This is a low word, scarcely ever used but in burlesque or conversation; and applied to any thing a man likes, without a settled meaning. [Johnson, 1755]
clevis: "U-shaped piece of iron used as a fastener," 1590s, of unknown origin, perhaps from the root of cleave (2). Equally uncertain is whether it is originally a plural or a singular.
clew: "ball of thread or yarn," northern English and Scottish relic of O.E. cliewen "sphere, ball, skein," probably from W.Gmc. *kleuwin (cf. O.S. cleuwin, Du. kluwen), from P.Gmc. *kliwjo-, from I.E. *gleu- "gather into a mass, conglomerate" (see clay).
cliche: 1832, from Fr. cliché, a technical word in printer's jargon for "stereotype," supposedly echoic of the sound of a mold striking molten metal, thus pp. of clicher "to click" (18c.). Figurative extension to "worn-out expression" is first attested 1888, following the course of stereotype. Related: Cliched (1928).
cliché: see cliche.
click: 1580s, of imitative origin (cf. Du., E.Fris. klikken "to click; O.Fr. clique "tick of a clock"). The figurative sense of "fit together" (based on the sound of a key in a lock, etc.) first recorded 1915. Related: Clicked; clicking. As a noun, from 1610s.
client: late 14c., from Anglo-Fr. clyent (c.1300), from L. clientem (nom. cliens) "follower, retainer," perhaps a variant of prp. of cluere "listen, follow, obey" (see listen); or, more likely, from clinare "to incline, bend," from suffixed form of PIE base *klei- "to lean" (see lean (v.)). The ground sense is of one who leans on another for protection. In ancient Rome, a plebian under protection of a patrician (in this relationship called patronus, see patron); originally in English "a lawyer's customer," by c.1600 extended to any customer.
clientele: 1560s, "body of professed adherents," from Fr. clientèle (16c.), from L. clientela "relationship between dependent and patron, body of clients," from clientem (nom. cliens; see client). Meaning "customers" is from 1865, perhaps a reborrowing from French.
cliff: O.E. clif, from P.Gmc. *kliban (cf. O.S. clif, O.N. klif, O.H.G. klep, M.Du. klippe, Ger. Klippe "cliff, steep rock"), perhaps from PIE base *gleibh- "to adhere, be attached." Cliff-dweller first attested 1889, Amer.Eng.
cliffhanger: "suspenseful situation," 1937, in reference to U.S. cinema serials, agent noun from cliff + hang. In some cases, esp. Westerns, the hero or heroine literally was dangling from a cliff at the end of an episode.