Where does “clearance” come from?
Clearance comes from English clear plus the French suffix -ance, derived from Latin -antia affixed to clarus meaning bright or clear, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kelh₁-.
clearance (English): The act of clearing or something cleared; The...
Definitions
- The act of clearing or something cleared; The...
Ancestry of “clearance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ance | Added to an adjective or verb to form a noun... |
| 2 | Middle English | -aunce | Forms nouns indicating states or processes, usually from verbs or other nouns; -ance |
| 3 | Old French | -ance | ance (suffix used to form nouns) |
| 4 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 5 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |