Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “glue” come from?

Glue comes from Old French glu, from Latin gluten meaning sticky substance, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European gʰel- meaning to stick or congeal.

glue (English): A hard gelatin made by boiling bones and hides,...

Definitions

  1. A hard gelatin made by boiling bones and hides,...

Ancestry of “glue”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishglueAlternative form of glew; Alternative form of...
2Old Frenchgluglue, birdlime
3Latinglūten—
4Proto-Italicgloiten—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanglóh₁ytn̥—
6Proto-Indo-Europeangleh₁y-to smear, putty; to stick, glue
7Proto-Indo-Europeangleh₁-ball, lump
8Proto-Indo-Europeangewl-vessel; ball; vessel, bowl, ball; ball, bowl,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeangēw-to bend, arch

Words derived from “glue”

  • gluing
  • gluon
  • superglue
  • unglue
  • gluino
  • gluelike
  • gluepot
  • gluonic
  • glueball
  • glueless
  • reglue
  • gluemaking
  • gluable
  • glueable
  • gluemaker
  • gluonium
  • bigluing
  • nonglue
  • sgluon
  • englue
  • leptogluon
  • gluelump
  • multigluon
  • multigluonic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gēw- →