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”

Every word from Indo-European *gel- →
cloud — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer