Where does “cleanup” come from?

Cleanup is a compound of English clean and up, with clean deriving from Middle English clene, Proto-Germanic *upp, *ub, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European roots *gley-, *gel-, and *gewl-.

cleanup (English): The act of cleaning or tidying something; Fourth...

Definitions

  1. The act of cleaning or tidying something; Fourth...

Ancestry of “cleanup”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishclean upTo make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy

Words derived from “cleanup

Every word from English clean up
cleanup — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer