Where does “clientelism” come from?

Clientelism derives from English clientele, from French clientèle, from Latin cliens, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱel-, meaning to hear or be called.

clientelism (English): A political system based on personal relations...

Definitions

  1. A political system based on personal relations...

Ancestry of “clientelism”, step by step

clientelism traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English clientèle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishclientèleAlternative form of clientele
2Frenchclientèleclientele
3Latinclientēlaclientship, patronage
4Latincliēnscustomer
5LatinclueoI am called or named; I am reputed
6Proto-Italickluēōto be known
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱlew-to hear
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

via English ism

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishismAn ideology, system of thought, or practice that...
2English-ismUsed to form nouns of action or process or result...
3Latin-ismus-ism
4Ancient Greek-ισμόςForms abstract nouns
5Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
6Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems

via Italian clientelismo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianclientelismoclientelism
2Italian-ismo-ism
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel-
clientelism — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer