Where does “clockwise” come from?
Clockwise derives from English clock combined with wise, ultimately from Proto-Germanic klukkwōną, the source of Old English cloccian meaning to make a clucking sound.
clockwise (English): In a curve or twist corresponding to the movement...
Definitions
- In a curve or twist corresponding to the movement...
Ancestry of “clockwise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | clock | An instrument used to measure or keep track of... |
| 2 | Middle English | clokke | clock, timekeeping device |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | clocke | bell; something bell-shaped |
| 4 | Old Dutch | *clocca | bell |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *klokkā | bell |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | clocca | bell; travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so... |
| 7 | Old Irish | cloc | bell; clock |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | klokkos | bell |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | klēg- | — |