Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. A confused disordered jumble of things;...

Ancestry of “clutter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishclotA thrombus, solidified mass of blood; A...
2Middle EnglishclotA clod; a ball of earth or clay; The ground; the...
3Old Englishclottround mass, lump
4Proto-Germanicklūtazlump, clod; boulder, rock; hill
5Proto-Indo-Europeangelewdos—
6Indo-European*gel-—

Words derived from “clutter”

  • decluttering
  • declutter
  • unclutter
  • clutterer
  • cluttery
  • anticlutter
  • clutterless
  • declutterer
  • cluttersome
Every word from Indo-European *gel- →