English
clairsentience
Clairsentience comes from French clair ‘clear’, from Middle French cler ‘bright, well-lit, not dark’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call”, “to shout’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-1‘to call”, “to shout’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclārus1‘clear, bright’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cler1‘bright, well-lit, not dark’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cler1‘bright, well-lit, not dark’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentclair2‘clear’
- Englishtodayclairsentience2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, French clair
- 2 Wiktionary, English clairsentience
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-Wiktionary, French clair‘to call”, “to shout’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclārusWiktionary, French clair‘clear, bright’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400clerWiktionary, French clair‘bright, well-lit, not dark’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600clerWiktionary, French clair‘bright, well-lit, not dark’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentclairWiktionary, English clairsentience‘clear’
- EnglishtodayclairsentienceWiktionary, English clairsentience
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call”, “to shout’
low, hell, claim, classic, calendar, haul, reconciliation, reconcile, classify, proclamation, squeal, reclamation, exclamation, irreconcilable, clamor, clamour, clas, ecclesial, ecclesiastic, conciliar, 36 more
through Latin clārus ‘clear, bright’
declare, clarity, clarification, clarinet, clarion, claret, 11 more
through Old French cler ‘bright, well-lit, not dark’
Today it means
noun The psychic ability for a person to acquire knowledge by means of feeling.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “clairsentience”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French clair. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- / clairsentience