Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “clacken” come from?

clacken (Middle English) comes from Old English clacian, from Proto-Germanic klakōną, from Proto-Indo-European glag-, from Proto-Indo-European gal- — to call, cry; to sound; to roop, scream, shout.

Ancestry of “clacken”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishclacianto clack, clap; to chirp, tweet
2Proto-Germanicklakōnąto clap, clack; to chirp, tweet, twitter
3Proto-Indo-Europeanglag-to make a noise, clap, twitter; to make a noise,...
4Proto-Indo-Europeangal-to call, cry; to sound; to roop, scream, shout

Words derived from “clacken”

  • clack
  • clackety
  • clacker
  • clackity
  • clacky
  • clacka
  • pokerclack
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gal- →