Where does “clutter” come from?
Clutter derives from Middle English cloteren, from Middle English clot, from Old English clott, from Proto-West Germanic klott, from Proto-Indo-European gel-, meaning to ball up or form into a mass.
clutter (English): A confused disordered jumble of things;...
Definitions
- A confused disordered jumble of things;...
Ancestry of “clutter”, step by step
clutter traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English clot
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | clot | A thrombus, solidified mass of blood; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | clot | A clod; a ball of earth or clay; The ground; the... |
| 3 | Old English | clott | round mass, lump |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | klūtaz | lump, clod; boulder, rock; hill |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gelewdos | — |
| 6 | Indo-European | *gel- | — |
via Middle English cloteren
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cloteren | to form clots; coagulate; heap on |