Etymology dictionary

claviger (n.) — cling (v.)

claviger (n.)

"one who carries a key of a room," c. 1600, from Latin claviger, from clavis "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook") + stem of gerere "to bear" (see gest). Latin claviger also was an epithet of Hercules, from clava "club, knotty branch," which is related to clavis.

claw (n.)

"sharp, hooked, horny end of the limb of a mammal, bird, reptile, etc.," Old English clawu, earlier clea, "claw, talon, iron hook," from Proto-Germanic *klawo (source also of Old Frisian klawe "claw, hoe," Middle Dutch klouwe, Dutch klauw, Old High German klawa, German Klaue "claw").

Claw-foot in reference to carved furniture legs is from 1823; claw-and-ball attested from 1893. Claw-hammer, one having one end divided into two claws, is attested from 1769.

claw (v.)

Old English clawian "to scratch, claw," from the same root as claw (n.). Related: Clawed; clawing. Compare Dutch klaauwen, Old High German klawan, German klauen.

To claw back "regain by great effort" is from 1953; as a noun, an act of this, from 1969. Earlier clawback (n.) meant "one who fawns on another, a sycophant" (1540s), from phrase claw the back "flatter, curry favor" (late 14c.); compare the more recent expression scratch (someone's) back in a similar sense.

clayey (adj.)

"of the nature of clay," Old English clæig, from contracted compound of clæg (see clay) + -ig (see -y (2)).

claymore (n.)

1749, "two-edged, heavy broadsword of ancient Scottish Highlanders," from Gaelic claidheamh mor "great sword," from claidheb "sword" (compare Welsh cleddyf), which is possibly from a PIE root *kel- "to strike" (see holt) + mor "great" (compare Welsh mawr; see more).

An antiquarian word made familiar again by Scott's novels. It was sometimes applied inaccurately to 16c.-18c. one-handed basket-hilted broad swords. Modern military application to a type of pellet-scattering anti-personnel mine is first attested 1962.

clean (adj.)

Old English clæne "free from dirt or filth, unmixed with foreign or extraneous matter; morally pure, chaste, innocent; open, in the open," of beasts, "not forbidden by ceremonial law to eat," from West Germanic *klainja- "clear, pure" (source also of Old Saxon kleni "dainty, delicate," Old Frisian klene "small," Old High German kleini "delicate, fine, small," German klein "small;" English preserves the original Germanic sense), perhaps from PIE root *gel- "bright, gleaming" (source also of Greek glene "eyeball," Old Irish gel "bright"). But Boutkan doubts the IE etymology and that the "clean" word and the "small" word are the same.

"Largely replaced by clear, pure in the higher senses" [Weekley], but as a verb (mid-15c.) it has largely usurped what once belonged to cleanse. Meaning "whole, entire" is from c. 1300 (clean sweep in the figurative sense is from 1821). Sense of "not lewd" (as in good, clean fun) is from 1867; that of "not carrying anything forbidden" is from 1938; that of "free of drug addiction" is from 1950s. To come clean "confess" is from 1919, American English.

clean (v.)

mid-15c., "make clean," from clean (adj.). Related: Cleaned; cleaning. From clean out "clean by emptying" comes sense of "to leave bare" (1844); cleaned-out "left penniless by losses" is from 1812.

clean (adv.)

Old English clæne "dirtlessly," also "clearly, fully, entirely;" see clean (adj.). Compare similar use of German rein "clean."

cleanness (n.)

Old English clænnes "(moral) cleanness, purity, chastity;" see clean (adj.) + -ness. Meaning "absence of dirt or filth" is late 14c.

clean-cut (adj.)

"well-shaped, with precise lines," 1829 (of turf), from clean (adv.) + past participle of cut (v.). Compare clear-cut.

cleaner (n.)

"one who or that which cleans," mid-15c., agent noun from clean (v.). Meaning "shop that cleans clothes" is from 1873. To take (someone) to the cleaners "get all of (someone's) money" is from 1921.

cleanly (adj.)

Old English clænlic "morally pure, innocent," from clæne (see clean (adj.)). Of persons, "habitually clean," from c. 1500.

cleanliness (n.)

"state of being free from dirth or filth; habit of keeping clean," early 15c., from cleanly + -ness.

cleanly (adv.)

late Old English clænlice "entirely, wholly;" see clean (adj.) + -ly (2). From c. 1200 as "in a clean manner; decently, morally."

clean-living (adj.)

"of upright character and healthful habits, mentally and morally healthy," 1874, from the noun phrase; see clean (adj.) + living (n.).

cleansing (n.)

late Old English clænsunge "a cleansing, a purifying, castigation; chastity, purity," verbal noun from the root of cleanse. As a present-participle adjective, attested from c. 1300.

cleanse (v.)

Old English clænsian "to make clean; purge, purify, chasten; justify," from West Germanic *klainson, from *klainoz (see clean (adj.)). Despite its modern spelling (16c.), it retains its Middle English pronunciation. Related: Cleansed; cleansing.

cleanser (n.)

late 14c., "thing that cleanses" (usually figurative, in reference to purging sin), also "a purgative medicine;" 1560s in a literal sense "one who or that which makes clean;" agent noun from cleanse (v.). Old English had clænsere "priest."

clean-up (n.)

also cleanup, 1856, "act of cleaning up, a general cleaning," from clean + up. Meaning "a profit" is recorded from 1878. Verbal phrase clean up "make a large profit" is from 1929. The adjective, in the baseball sense, is recorded by 1910 in reference to the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup: His job is to drive in runs by scoring the players who hit before him and thus "clean up" the bases.

clearing (n.)

late 14c., "action of making clear," verbal noun from clear (v.). Meaning "land cleared of wood" is from 1818, American English.

clear (v.)

mid-14c., "make clear (an obscure subject) in the mind, explain, elucidate;" late 14c., "make clean, cleanse, purify; clarify (a liquid), remove what clouds or diminishes brightness or transparency;" also "prove innocent, vindicate;" of the weather, sea, sky, clouds, etc., "clear up, become fair or calm;" from clear (adj.). Related: Cleared; clearing.

Intransitive sense of "become free from murkiness" is from 1580s. Meaning "to free from obstructions" is from 1520s; that of "to free from entanglement" is from 1590s; that of "pass (an obstacle) without entanglement or collision" is from 1630s. Sense of "to remove (something) out of the way" is from 1670s; that of "to clear land of trees and underbrush" is from 1690s. Meaning "to leap clear over" is first attested 1791. Meaning "to gain (a sum of money) in clear profit" is from 1719. Meaning "get approval for (a proposal, etc.) from authority" is from 1944; meaning "establish as suitable for national security work" is from 1948.

To clear (one's) throat is from 1881; earlier clear (one's) voice (1701). To clear out "depart, leave" (1825), perhaps is from the notion of ships satisfying customs, harbor regulations, etc., then setting sail. To get clear of is from 1590s. To clear up is from 1620s of weather, 1690s as "make clear to the mind." Clear the deck (1802) is from sailing ships. Clear the air in the figurative sense is from late 14c. To clear the coast (1520s) was to make it suitable for landing.

clear (adj.)

c. 1300, "giving light, shining, luminous;" also "not turbid; transparent, allowing light to pass through; free from impurities; morally pure, guiltless, innocent;" of colors, "bright, pure;" of weather or the sky or sea, "not stormy; mild, fair, not overcast, fully light, free from darkness or clouds;" of the eyes or vision, "clear, keen;" of the voice or sound, "plainly audible, distinct, resonant;" of the mind, "keen-witted, perspicacious;" of words or speech, "readily understood, manifest to the mind, lucid" (an Old English word for this was sweotol "distinct, clear, evident"); of land, "cleared, leveled;" from Old French cler "clear" (of sight and hearing), "light, bright, shining; sparse" (12c., Modern French clair), from Latin clarus "clear, loud," of sounds; figuratively "manifest, plain, evident," in transferred use, of sights, "bright, distinct;" also "illustrious, famous, glorious" (source of Italian chiaro, Spanish claro), from PIE *kle-ro-, from root *kele- (2) "to shout."

The prehistoric sense evolution to light and color involves an identification of the spreading of sound and the spreading of light (compare English loud, used of colors; German hell "clear, bright, shining," of pitch, "distinct, ringing, high").

Also in Middle English "beautiful, magnificent, excellent" (c. 1300); of possession or title, "unrestricted, unconditional, absolute," early 15c. Of complexion, from c. 1300. Sense of "free from encumbrance," later largely nautical, developed c. 1500. Meaning "obvious to the senses" is from 1835. Clear-sighted is from 1580s (clear-eyed is from 1520s); clear-headed is from 1709. For coast is clear see clear (v.).

clear (adv.)

c. 1300, "completely, quite, entirely, wholly," c. 1300, from clear (adj.) or adverbial use of the adjective in Old French. From early 14c. as "plainly, lucidly;" mid-14c. as "loudly, with distinctness of sound;" late 14c. as "brightly, brilliantly."

clear (n.)

early 13c., in place names, "a clearing, a forest glade," from Old French noun use of the adjective (see clear (adj.)). In Middle English also "a beautiful person" (mid-14c.). From c. 1500 as "brightness." The notion in in the clear (1715) is "a clear space."

clearness (n.)

c. 1300, "state or quality of being clear, brightness," from clear (adj.) + -ness.

clearance (n.)

1560s, "action of making clear," from clear (v.) + -ance. Meaning "a clear space" is from 1788. Meaning "approval, permission" (especially to land or take off an aircraft) is from 1944, American English; national security sense recorded from 1948. Clearance sale attested by 1843.

clear-cut (adj.)

"formed with distinct outlines" (as if by cutting as opposed to molding), 1855, from clear (adj.) + past participle adjective from cut (v.).

clear-cutting (n.)

"felling and removal of all the trees in a place," 1874, from clear (adj.) + cutting (n.), verbal noun from cut (v.).

clearing-house (n.)

also clearinghouse, 1805, from clearing + house (n.). 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 (adv.)

c. 1300, of vision and speech, "in a clear manner, without obscurity," from clear (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "evidently" is from 1560s; as a parenthetical expression in argument, "it is clear," recorded from 1867.

cleat (n.)

c. 1300, clete "a wedge," from Old English *cleat "a lump," from West Germanic *klaut "firm lump" (source also of Middle Low German klot, klute, Middle Dutch cloot, Dutch kloot, Old High German kloz, German kloß "clod, dumpling").

In Middle English, a wedge of wood bolted to a spar, etc., to keep it from slipping (late 14c.). Meaning "thin metal plate fastened under a shoe, etc." (originally to preserve the sole) is from c. 1825, originally a dialect word. The athletic cleat, for gripping, is attested from 1904.

cleave (v.1)

"to split, part or divide by force," Old English cleofan, cleven, cliven "to split, separate" (class II strong verb, past tense cleaf, past participle clofen), from Proto-Germanic *kleuban (source also of Old Saxon klioban, Old Norse kljufa, Danish klöve, Dutch kloven, Old High German klioban, German klieben "to cleave, split"), from PIE root *gleubh- "to tear apart, cleave."

Past tense form clave is recorded in Northern writers from 14c. and was used with both verbs (see cleave (v.2)), apparently by analogy with other Middle English strong verbs. Clave was common to c. 1600 and still alive at the time of the KJV; weak past tense cleaved for this verb also emerged in 14c.; cleft is still later. The past participle cloven survives, though mostly in compounds.

cleave (v.2)

"to adhere, cling," Middle English cleven, clevien, cliven, from Old English clifian, cleofian "to stick fast, adhere," also figurative, from West Germanic *klibajan (source also of Old Saxon klibon, Old High German kliban, Dutch kleven, Old High German kleben, German kleben "to stick, cling, adhere"), from PIE *gloi- "to stick" (see clay).

The confusion was less in Old English when cleave (v.1) was a class 2 strong verb; but it has grown since cleave (v.1) weakened, which may be why both are largely superseded by stick (v.) and split (v.).

cleavage (n.)

1805, in geology and mineralogy, "tendency (of rocks or gems) to break cleanly along natural fissures," from cleave (v.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, 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;" traditionally first used in this sense by U.S. publicist Joseph I. Breen (1888-1965), head of the Production Code Administration (replaced 1945 by Eric Johnston), enforcers of Hollywood self-censorship, in reference to Jane Russell's costumes and poses in "The Outlaw."

cleaver (n.)

late 15c., "one who splits," agent noun from cleave (v.1). Originally "one who splits boards with a wedge instead of sawing;" attested as part of a surname from mid-14c. Meaning "butcher's long-bladed chopper" is from mid-15c. Marrow-bones and cleavers as instruments of "rough music" is from 1716.

clechy (adj.)

also cleché, 1680s, "pierced through with a figure of the same kind," but also, of a cross, "having arms which spread or grow broader toward the extremities," from French cléché (17c.), from Latin *clavicatus "key-holed," or clavicella "little key," from clavis "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook"). The cross sense perhaps from or merged with Latin clava "club, knotty branch."

cledonism (n.)

"avoidance of words deemed unlucky," 1885, from Latinized form of Greek kledon "omen or presage contained in a word or sound," also "report, rumor, tidings; fame" (from PIE root *kele- (2) "to shout") + -ism.

clef (n.)

1570s, "character on a staff to indicate its name and pitch," so that the others may be known, from French clef (12c.) "key; musical clef; trigger," from a figurative or transferred use of classical Latin clavis, which had only the literally sense "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook").

In the Middle Ages, the Latin word was used in the Guidonian system for "the lowest note of a scale," which is its basis (see keynote). The most common is the treble, violin, or G-clef, which crosses on the second line of the staff, denoting that as the G above middle C on the piano.

cleft (adj.)

"split, cloven," late 14c., past-participle adjective from cleave (v.1)). Cleft palate attested from 1828.

cleft (n.)

1570s, alteration (by influence of cleft, new weak past participle of cleave (v.1)), of Middle English clift "fissure, rift, space or opening made by cleaving" (early 14c.), from Old English geclyft (adj.) "split, cloven," from Proto-Germanic *kluftis (compare Old High German chluft, German Kluft, Danish kløft "cleft, fissure, gap"), from PIE root *gleubh- "to tear apart, cleave." In Middle English anatomy, it meant "the parting of the thighs" (early 14c.).

clematis (n.)

plant genus, mostly herbaceous climbers, 1550s, "periwinkle," from Latin clematis, from Greek klematis, in Dioscorides as the name of a climbing or trailing plant (OED says probably the periwinkle) with long and lithe branches, diminutive of klema "vine-branch, shoot or twig broken off" (for grafting), from klan "to break" (see clastic).

clemency (n.)

1550s, "mildness or gentleness shown in exercise of authority," from Latin clementia "calmness, gentleness," from clemens "calm, mild," related to clinare "to lean," often said to be from PIE root *klei- "to lean" + participial suffix -menos (also in alumnus). For sense evolution, compare inclined in secondary meaning "disposed favorably." But de Vaan is dubious on phonological grounds.

Earlier in same sense was clemence (late 15c.). 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 (adj.)

mid-15c., of persons, "mild in temper or disposition" (attested from early 13c. as a surname), from Old French clement, from Latin clementem (nominative clemens) "mild, placid, gentle" (see clemency). Of weather, 1620s. Taken as a name by several early popes and popular in England as a masculine given name from mid-12c., also in fem. form Clemence.

Clementine

fem. proper name, fem. of Clement (see clement (adj.)).

clementine (n.)

"small citrus fruit, a cross between a tangerine and a sour orange," 1926, from French clémentine (1902). Originally an accidental hybrid said to have been cultivated from c. 1900 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, California, as early as 1909.

Clementine (adj.)

1705, in reference to various popes who took the name Clement (see clement (adj.)). Saint Clement was a 1c. bishop of Rome. Clement VII was the first of the antipopes of Avignon. Especially in reference to the edition of the Vulgate issued due to Pope Clement VIII in 1592, which was the official Latin Bible text of the Catholic Church until late 20c.

clench (n.)

1590s, "the part of a nail that clinches," from clench (v.). Also "mode of securing a nail by hammering it back once driven." Meaning "a grasp, grip" is from 1779. Compare clinch.

clench (v.)

"to grasp firmly," c. 1300, from Old English (be)clencan "to hold fast, make cling," causative of clingan (see cling, and compare clinch); compare stench/stink. Meaning "to set firmly together" (of fists, teeth, etc.) is from 1747 (clinch in this sense is attested from 1630s). Figurative sense of "fix or secure by a final act" is from 1670s. Related: Clenched; clenching.

Cleon

masc. proper name, from Latinized form of Greek kleon, kleos "rumor, report, news; good report, fame, glory," from PIE *klew-yo-, suffixed form of root *kleu- "to hear."

Cleopatra

common name of sister-queens in Egypt under the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The name is Latinized Greek, probably meaning "glory of her father," from kleos "rumor, report, news; good report, fame, glory" (from PIE root *kleu- "to hear") + patris, genitive of pater "father" (see father (n.)), though Shipley suggests "key to the fatherland," from kleis "key" (see clavicle). The famous queen was the seventh of that name. Related: Cleopatran.

clepe (v.)

"to call; to name" (archaic), from Old English cleopian, clipian "to speak, call; summon, invoke; implore," which is of uncertain origin.

clepsydra (n.)

"ancient Greek water-clock," 1640s, from Latinized form of Greek klepsydra, from stem of kleptein "to steal, to hide" (see kleptomania) + hydor "water," from suffixed form of PIE root *wed- (1) "water; wet."

A device for measuring time by the amount of water discharged from a terra cotta vessel into another through a small hole (it works on the same principle as the hourglass). It was used in classical Athens to measure smaller segments of time (probably 30 minutes or less) than the sundial (six minutes seems to have been a typical time to drain the vessel) and especially to regulate the allowed time for speeches in tribunals.

cleptomaniac (n.)

Latinized variant of kleptomaniac. Related: Cleptomania.

clerestory (n.)

also clearstory, early 15c., "upper story of a church, perforated by windows," probably from clere "clear," in a sense "light, lighted" (see clear (adj.)), and story (n.2), 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; so called because the windows that pierced it were the principal source of light for the center of the building. Related: Clerestorial.

clergy (n.)

c. 1200, clergie "office or dignity of a clergyman," from two Old French words: 1. clergié "clerics, learned men," from Medieval Latin clericatus, from Late Latin clericus (see clerk (n.)); 2. clergie "learning, knowledge, erudition," from clerc, also from Late Latin clericus.

Meaning "persons ordained for religious work, persons consecrated to the duties of public ministration in the Christian church" is from c. 1300. Benefit of clergy (1510s) is the exemption of ecclesiastics from certain criminal processes before secular judges; in England it was first recognized 1274, modified over time, and abolished in 1827.

clergyman (n.)

"member of the clergy, a man in holy orders," 1570s, from clergy + man (n.).

clergywoman (n.)

1670s, "a nun," from clergy + woman on the model of clergyman. Not seriously as "woman pastor, woman of the clerical profession" until 1871; in between it was used humorously for "old woman" or "domineering wife of a clergyman." Clergess as "member of a female religious order" is attested from late 14c.; clergy-feme as "clergyman's wife or woman" is attested from 1580s.

cleric (n.)

"a clergyman," 1620s (also in early use as an adjective), from Church Latin clericus "clergyman, priest," noun use of adjective meaning "priestly, belonging to the clerus;" from Ecclesiastical Greek klērikos "pertaining to an inheritance," but in Greek Christian jargon by 2c., "of the clergy, belonging to the clergy," as opposed to the laity; from klēros "a lot, allotment; piece of land; heritage, inheritance," originally "a shard or wood chip used in casting lots," related to klan "to break" (see clastic).

Klēros was used by early Greek Christians for matters relating to ministry, based on Deuteronomy xviii.2 reference to Levites as temple assistants: "Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance" (klēros being used as a translation of Hebrew nahalah "inheritance, lot"). Or else it is from the use of the word in Acts i:17. A word taken up in English after clerk (n.) shifted to its modern meaning.

clerical (adj.)

1590s, "pertaining to the clergy," from cleric + -al (1), or from French clérical, from Old French clerigal "learned," from Latin clericalis, from clericus (see cleric). Meaning "pertaining to clerks and copyists" is from 1798.

Clericalism "sacerdotalism, power or influence of the clergy" is from 1849. Clericality "quality of being clerical" is from 1650s.

clerihew (n.)

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.

clerisy (n.)

1818, on model of German clerisei, from Late Latin clericia, related to clericus (see cleric); apparently coined by Coleridge, who used it to mean "the learned men of a nation, its poets, philosophers, and scholars," "to express a notion no longer associated with CLERGY" [OED]. But since the 1840s it has since sometimes been used in the sense "the clergy," as distinguished from the laity.

clerk (n.)

c. 1200, "man ordained in the ministry, a priest, an ecclesiastic," from Old English cleric and Old French clerc "clergyman, priest; scholar, student," both from Church Latin clericus "a priest," noun use of adjective meaning "priestly, belonging to the clerus" (see cleric).

Modern bureaucratic usage is a reminder of the time when clergy alone could read and write and were employed as scribes and account-keepers by secular authorities. In late Old English the word also can mean "king's scribe; keeper of accounts." And by c. 1200 clerk took on a secondary sense in Middle English (as the cognate word did in Old French) of "man of letters, anyone who can read or write."

This led to the senses "assistant in a public or private business" (c. 1500), originally a keeper of accounts, also "officer of a court, municipality, etc. whose duty it is to keep its records and perform its routine business" (1520s), and later, especially in American English, "a retail salesman" (1790). Meaning "an employee who registers guests in a hotel" is by 1879.

clerk (v.)

"act or serve as a clerk," 1550s, from clerk (n.). Related: Clerked, clerking.

clerkly (adj.)

1560s, "pertaining to or befitting the clergy," from clerk (n.) + -ly (1) . Meaning "pertaining to or befitting an office clerk" is by 1845.

clerkship (n.)

late 15c., "state of being in holy orders," from clerk (n.) + -ship. From 1540s as "function or business of an office clerk."

cleromancy (n.)

"divination by throwing dice," c. 1600, from French cléromancie, from Latinized form of Greek klēros "lot" (see clerk (n.)) + manteia "oracle, divination" (see -mancy).

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 (attested from 12c.) is from one of several place names in England based on Middle English cleove, a variant of cliff.

clever (adj.)

1580s, "handy, dexterous, having special manual ability," apparently from East Anglian dialectal cliver "expert at seizing," perhaps from East Frisian klüfer "skillful," or Norwegian dialectic klover "ready, skillful," and perhaps influenced by Old English clifer "claw, hand" (early usages seem to refer to dexterity). Or perhaps akin to Old Norse kleyfr "easy to split," from Proto-Germanic *klaubri‑ from PIE root *gleubh- "to tear apart, cleave." Extension to intellect is first recorded 1704.

The meaning has narrowed since, but clever also often in old use and dialect meant "well-shaped, attractive-looking" and in late 18c. and 19c. American English sometimes "good-natured, agreeable." Related: Cleverly; cleverness.

clevis (n.)

"U-shaped iron bar with holes at the ends for a bolt or pin, used as a fastener," 1590s, of unknown origin; perhaps from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse klofi "a cleft," from Proto-Germanic *klub‑ "a splitting," from PIE root *gleubh- "to tear apart, cleave." Also uncertain is whether it is originally a plural or a singular.

clew (n.)

"ball of thread or yarn," northern English and Scottish relic of Old English cliewen "sphere, ball, skein, ball of thread or yarn," probably from West Germanic *kleuwin (source also of Old Saxon cleuwin, Dutch kluwen), from Proto-Germanic *kliwjo-, perhaps from a PIE *gleu- "gather into a mass, conglomerate," from the source of clay (q.v.). For further sense evolution, see clue (n.).

cliche (n.)

1825, "electrotype, stereotype," from French cliché, a technical word in printer's jargon for "stereotype block," noun use of past participle of clicher "to click" (18c.), supposedly echoic of the sound of a mold striking metal (compare native click).

Figurative extension to "trite phrase, worn-out expression" is first attested 1888, via the notion of the metal plate from which a print or design could be reproduced endlessly without variety, paralleling the sense evolution of stereotype. But this sense was not common in English until the 1920s, when it was identified as a French idiom. Related: Cliched (1928).

click (v.)

1580s, "cause to make a weak, sharp, sound" (transitive), of imitative origin (compare Dutch and East Frisian klikken "to click;" Old French clique "tick of a clock"). Intransitive sense "make a weak, sharp sound" is from 1610s.

The figurative sense, in reference usually to persons, "hit it off at once, become friendly upon meeting" is from 1915, perhaps based on the sound of a key in a lock. Mental figurative meaning "to fall into context" is by 1939. Related: Clicked; clicking.

click (n.)

"a small, sharp sound," 1610s, from click (v.). As a sound in certain South African languages, 1837. Click-beetle attested from 1830, so called from its ability, when on its back, to spring into the air with an audible click.

click-bait (n.)

internet content meant primarily to lure a viewer to click on it, by 2011, from click (n.) + bait (n.).

clicker (n.)

"one who or that which 'clicks,' in any sense," agent noun from click (v.). Earliest attested sense is slang, "person employed by a shopkeeper to stand at the door and solicit customers" (1680s). It is still thus in Johnson (1755): "clicker. A low word for the servant of a salesman, who stands at the door to invite customers." By 1996 as "a remote control device to operate something (generally a television set) by the 'click' of a button."

client (n.)

late 14c., "one who lives under the patronage of another," from Anglo-French clyent (c. 1300), from Latin clientem (nominative cliens) "follower, retainer" (related to clinare "to incline, bend"), from PIE *klient-, a suffixed (active participle) form of root *klei- "to lean." The notion apparently is "one who leans on another for protection." In ancient Rome, a plebeian under the guardianship and protection of a patrician (who was called patronus in this relationship; see patron).

The meaning "a lawyer's customer" is attested from c. 1400, and by c. 1600 the word was extended to any customer who puts a particular interest in the care and management of another. Related: Cliency.

clientele (n.)

1560s, "body of professed adherents, clients collectively under the patronage of someone," from French clientèle (16c.), from Latin clientela "relationship between dependent and patron; body of clients," from clientem (nominative cliens, "follower, retainer;" see client).

The word is said in OED to apparently have become obsolete after 17c., and the main modern meaning "customers, those who regularly patronize a business or professional" is from 1857, perhaps a reborrowing from French (it was used in English in italics as a foreign word from 1836).

Clientage is attested from 1630s as "a body of clients;" clientship from 1640s as "condition of being a client."

cliff (n.)

Old English clif "steep and rugged face of a rocky mass, promontory, steep slope," from Proto-Germanic *kliban (source also of Old Saxon clif, Old Norse klif, Middle Dutch klippe, Dutch klip, Old High German klep, German Klippe "cliff, promontory, steep rock").

Clift has been a variant spelling since 15c. and was common in early Modern English. It represents an influence by or merger with clift, a variant of cleft (n.). Cliff-dweller first attested 1879, American English, in reference to aboriginal tribes of the U.S. Southwest who built dwellings in natural recesses in cliffs.

cliff-hanger (n.)

also cliffhanger, "suspenseful situation," 1950, a transferred use from an earlier meaning "movie serial" (1933), from cliff + hang (v.). In some U.S. continued-next-week silent cinema serials in the "Perils of Pauline" days, the episode often ended with the heroine "hanging over a cliff from a fraying rope through which the villain was sawing with a dull knife, to be saved by Crane Wilbur or Milton Sills" [Collier's magazine, July 6, 1946].

Clifford

surname and later a masc. proper name, attested from 12c. as a surname, originally a place-name, "ford at the steep bank;" see cliff + ford (n.).

climactic (adj.)

"pertaining to a climax," 1832, from climax, apparently on the analogy of syntax/syntactic. Related: Climactical.

climacteric (n.)

1620s, "a critical stage in human life, a period supposed to be especially liable to remarkable change with regard to health, life or fortune," from Latin climactericus, from Greek klimaktērikos "of a critical period," from klimaktēr "rung of a ladder," figuratively "critical point of a man's life" (see climax (n.)).

By some, held to be the years that are multiples of 7 (14, 21, 28, etc.), by others only the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and ninth periods of 7 years (21, 35, 49, etc.), to which some added the 81st year. By still others it was regarded as the years that were multiples of 9. The great or grand climacteric, supposed to be especially remarkable, was the 63rd year (7x9) or the 81st (9x9).

In 19c. medicine it often especially meant "menopause." Climacteric was used earlier in English as an adjective, "pertaining to a critical period or crisis" (c. 1600; climacterical in this sense is from 1580s).

climate (n.)

late 14c., "horizontal zone of the earth's surface measured by lines parallel to the equator," from Old French climat "region, part of the earth," from Latin clima (genitive climatis) "region; slope of the earth," from Greek klima "region, zone," literally "an inclination, slope," thus "slope of the earth from equator to pole," from a suffixed form of PIE root *klei- "to lean."

Ancient geographers divided the earth into zones based on the angle of sun on the slope of the earth's surface and the length of daylight. Some reckoned 24 or 30 climates between Meroe on the upper Nile in Sudan and the mythical Riphaean Mountains which were supposed to bound the Arctic; a change of climate took place, going north, at a place where the day was a half hour longer or shorter, according to season, than the starting point. Others counted 7 (each dominated by a particular planet) or 12 (dominated by zodiac signs).

Change of temperature gradually came to be considered more important, and by late 14c. the word was being used in the sense "a distinct region of the earth's surface considered with respect to weather." The sense shift to "combined results of weather associated with a region, characteristic condition of a country or region with reference to the variation of heat, cold, rainfall, wind, etc.," is attested by c. 1600. Figuratively, of mental or moral atmosphere, from 1660s.

climatic (adj.)

"related to or connected with climate," 1803, from climate + -ic. There is a 1650 citation for climatical in OED. Climatal (1830) is marked "rare" in Century Dictionary. Related: Climatically.

climate change (n.)

1983, in the modern "human-caused global warming" sense. See climate (n.) + change (n.). Climatic change in a similar sense was in use from 1975.

climatography (n.)

"a description or study of climates," 1813, from climate + -graphy, with connective -o-. Related: Climatographic; climatographical; climatographically.

climatology (n.)

"scientific study of climates," 1803, from climate + -ology. In 19c., more or less equivalent to meteorology.

climatological (adj.)

"related to or connected with climatology," 1827, from climatology + -ical. Related: Climatologically.

climatologist (n.)

"one studying or skilled in climatology," 1844, from climatology + -ist.

climax (n.)

1580s, in the rhetorical sense ("a chain of reasoning in graduating steps from weaker to stronger"), from Late Latin climax (genitive climacis), from Greek klimax "propositions rising in effectiveness," literally "ladder," from suffixed form of PIE root *klei- "to lean."

Originally in rhetoric an arrangement of successive clauses so that the last important word of one is repeated as the first important word of the next, as in Romans v.3-5: "... but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed ...." Compare anadiplosis. From the rhetorical meaning, the word evolved through "series of steps by which a goal is achieved," to "escalating steps," to (1789) "high point of intensity or development," a usage credited by the OED to "popular ignorance."

The meaning "sexual orgasm" is recorded by 1880 (also in terms such as climax of orgasm), and is said to have been promoted from c. 1900 by birth-control pioneer Marie Stopes (1880-1958) and others as a more accessible word than orgasm (n.).

climax (v.)

1835, "to reach the highest point, culminate," from climax (n.). For erotic sense, see the noun. Related: Climaxed; climaxing.

climb (v.)

Old English climban "raise oneself using hands and feet; rise gradually, ascend; make an ascent of" (past tense clamb, past participle clumben, clumbe), from West Germanic *klimban "go up by clinging" (source also of Dutch klimmen, Old High German klimban, German klimmen "to climb").

A strong verb in Old English, weak by 16c. Other Germanic languages long ago dropped the -b. Meaning "to mount as if by climbing" is from mid-14c. Figurative sense of "rise slowly by effort or as if by climbing" is from mid-13c. Related: Climbed; climbing.

climb (n.)

1580s, "act of climbing," from climb (v.). Meaning "an ascent by climbing" is from 1915, originally in aviation.

climbable (adj.)

"capable of being ascended," 1610s, from climb (v.) + -able.

climber (n.)

early 15c., "one who climbs," agent noun from climb (v.). Botanical meaning "a plant that rises by attaching itself to some support" is from 1630s.

clime (n.)

1540s, "a tract or region of the earth," shortening of climate (or a nativization of Latin clima). It might usefully take up the old, abandoned "horizontal region of the earth" sense of climate, but it is used chiefly by the poets, and they display no evident agreement on what they mean by it.

clinch (n.)

1620s, "method of fastening ropes," nautical, from clinch (v.). Also compare clench (n.). Meaning "a fastening by bending a driven nail" is from 1650s. In pugilism, "grappling at close quarters," from 1875.

clinch (v.)

1560s, "fix securely (a driven nail) by bending and beating it back," a variant of clench (q.v.). The sense of "settle decisively" is recorded from 1716, from the notion of "clinching" the point of a nail to keep it fast. The boxing sense is from 1860. Related: Clinched; clinching.

clincher (n.)

early 14c., "person or thing that clinches" (i.e., secures nails by bending down or riveting the pointed end), late 15c. as a class of shipyard worker; agent noun from clinch (v.). As a type of nail, from 1735; as a conclusive statement, argument, etc., 1737. Clincher-built "made of boards or metal pieces which overlap one another" is from 1769.

cline (n.)

1938, in biology, "a graded series of differences within a species," a back-formation from incline or from a Latinized form of Greek klinein "to slope, to lean" (from PIE root *klei- "to lean"). Earlier, but now obsolete, was a verb cline, from Middle English clinen "to bend, bow," from Old French cliner, from Latin clinare.

cling (v.)

Old English clingan "hold fast, adhere closely; congeal, shrivel" (strong verb, past tense clang, past participle clungen), from Proto-Germanic *klingg- (source also of Danish klynge "to cluster;" Old High German klinga "narrow gorge;" Old Norse klengjask "press onward;" Danish klinke, Dutch klinken "to clench;" German Klinke "latch").

The main sense shifted in Middle English to "adhere to" (something else), "stick together." Of persons in embrace, c. 1600. Figuratively (to hopes, outmoded ideas, etc.), from 1580s. Of clothes from 1792. Related: Clung; clinging.