Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “clothes” come from?

clothes (Middle English) comes from Middle English cloþ, from Old English clāþ, from Proto-Germanic klaiþą, from Proto-Indo-European gleyt-, from Proto-Indo-European gley-, from Proto-Indo-European gel- — to be cold, to freeze.

clothes (Middle English): Alternative form of clothes

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of clothes

Ancestry of “clothes”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishcloþAlternative form of cloth; cloth, garment
2Old Englishclāþcloth, clothes, covering, sail
3Proto-Germanicklaiþącloth
4Proto-Indo-Europeangleyt-to cling to, cleave, stick
5Proto-Indo-Europeangley-to glue, paste, stick together; to glue, stick...
6Proto-Indo-Europeangel-to be cold, to freeze

Words derived from “clothes”

  • clothes
  • clothesline
  • underclothes
  • nightclothes
  • clothespin
  • graveclothes
  • smallclothes
  • clotheshorse
  • clothespress
  • clothesman
  • clothesbasket
  • clothesbrush
  • overclothes
  • clothesless
  • clothespeg
  • clothesmaker
  • shortclothes
  • clothesmaking
  • clothestree
  • clothist
  • rainclothes
  • clothescare
  • clotheswoman
  • klos meri
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gel- →