Where does “*klaiþ” come from?
*klaiþ (Proto-West Germanic) comes from Proto-Germanic klaiþą, from Proto-Indo-European gleyt-, from Proto-Indo-European gley-, from Proto-Indo-European gel- — to be cold, to freeze.
Ancestry of “*klaiþ”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Germanic | klaiþą | cloth |
| 2 | Proto-Indo-European | gleyt- | to cling to, cleave, stick |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | gley- | to glue, paste, stick together; to glue, stick... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | gel- | to be cold, to freeze |