Where does “clammishness” come from?
clammishness (English) comes from English clammish, from English clam, from Middle English clam, from Old English clām, from Proto-West Germanic *klaim, from Proto-Germanic klaimaz, from Proto-Indo-European gleh₁y-, from Proto-Indo-European gleh₁- — to bend, arch.
clammishness (English): Quality of being clammish
Definitions
- Quality of being clammish
Ancestry of “clammishness”, step by step
clammishness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English clammish
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | clammish | secretive; uncommunicative |
| 2 | English | clam | A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those... |
| 3 | Middle English | clam | pincers, vice, clamp; viscous, sticky; slimy |
| 4 | Old English | clām | clay, mud; paste, mortar, mud, clay, poultice |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *klaim | clay, mortar |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | klaimaz | clay, mortar |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gleh₁y- | to smear, putty; to stick, glue |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gleh₁- | ball, lump |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gewl- | vessel; ball; vessel, bowl, ball; ball, bowl,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gēw- | to bend, arch |
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |