Etymology Explorer › Proto-West Germanic

Where does “*klawu” come from?

*klawu (Proto-West Germanic) comes from Proto-Germanic klawō, from Proto-Germanic klawjaną, from Proto-Indo-European glew-, from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- — to swallow; swallow.

Ancestry of “*klawu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicklawōclaw
2Proto-Germanicklawjanąto claw or scratch
3Proto-Indo-Europeanglew-Alternative form of *gley-; to amass,...
4Proto-Indo-Europeanǵel-to swallow; swallow
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵel- →