Where does “washcloth” come from?
Washcloth comes from English wash and cloth, with cloth descended from Old English clāþ, whose ultimate origin in Proto-Indo-European gel- remains uncertain.
washcloth (English): A small cloth used to wash the face and body
Definitions
- A small cloth used to wash the face and body
Ancestry of “washcloth”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | wash | To clean with water; To move or erode by the... |
| 2 | Middle English | washen | — |
| 3 | Old English | wasċan | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | waskan | to wash |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | waskaną | to wash |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | watskaną | to wash, get wet |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wed- | water |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wey- | to wither; fade; to move, go ahead; to be strong;... |