Etymograph

English

clamor

Clamor comes from Latin clāmor ‘a shout, cry’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-1‘to shout’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclāmō2‘cry out, complain’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclāmor2‘a shout, cry’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400clamor2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clamour2‘shout’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1700clamor2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin clamo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English clamor
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1700, John Dryden, Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.: “For when he knew his Rival freed and gone,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-Wiktionary, Latin clamo‘to shout’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclāmōWiktionary, English clamor‘cry out, complain’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclāmorWiktionary, English clamor‘a shout, cry’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400clamorWiktionary, English clamor
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clamourWiktionary, English clamor‘shout’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1700clamorWiktionary, English clamor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1700, John Dryden, Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.: “For when he knew his Rival freed and gone,…”

The story

Recorded in English since c. 1385, as Middle English clamour, from Old French clamor (modern clameur), from Latin clāmor (‘a shout, cry’), from clāmō (‘cry out, complain’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to shout’

low, hell, clear, calendar, classic, haul, reconciliation, declare, claire, reconcile, clarity, clarification, reclaim, classify, proclaim, acclaim, squeal, claimant, clarinet, irreconcilable, clarion, exclaim, claret, ecclesiastic, conciliar, ecclesial, clas, 32 more

through Latin clāmō ‘cry out, complain’

claim, proclamation, reclamation, exclamation, 11 more

Today it means

noun A great outcry or vociferation; loud and continued shouting or exclamation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “clamor”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin clamo. 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- / clamor

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