Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cloud” come from?

Cloud comes from Middle English cloud, derived from Proto-Germanic klūtaz, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European gel-, meaning to ball up or clump.

cloud (English): A rock; boulder; a hill; A visible mass of water...

Definitions

  1. A rock; boulder; a hill; A visible mass of water...

Ancestry of “cloud”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishcloudA small elevation; a hill; A clod, lump, or...
2Old Englishclūdmass of stone, rock, boulder, hill; rock, boulder
3Proto-West Germanicklūt—
4Proto-Germanicklūtazlump, clod; boulder, rock; hill
5Proto-Indo-Europeangelewdos—
6Indo-European*gel-—

Words derived from “cloud”

  • thundercloud
  • cloudburst
  • cloudland
  • cloudlike
  • becloud
  • cloudlet
  • overcloud
  • cloudberry
  • stormcloud
  • dustcloud
  • cloudscape
  • raincloud
  • uncloud
  • cloudbuster
  • intracloud
  • cloudfree
  • cloudcapt
  • cloudage
  • cloudly
  • subcloud
  • cloudeth
  • intercloud
  • encloud
  • cloudline
Every word from Indo-European *gel- →