English
clarinet
Clarinet comes from Italian clarino ‘trumpet’, from Latin clarus ‘clear, bright’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call, shout’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-1‘to call, shout’by way of Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₁rós, Proto-Italic *klārosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclarus2‘clear, bright’
- Italianc. 1300–presentclarino3‘trumpet’
- Italianc. 1300–presentclarinetto3diminutive of clarino
- Englishtodayclarinet3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin clarus
- 2 Wiktionary, Italian clarino
- 3 Wiktionary, English clarinet
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kelh₁-Wiktionary, Latin clarus‘to call, shout’by way of Proto-Indo-European *kl̥h₁rós, Proto-Italic *klārosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclarusWiktionary, Italian clarino‘clear, bright’
- Italianc. 1300–presentclarinoWiktionary, English clarinet‘trumpet’
- Italianc. 1300–presentclarinettoWiktionary, English clarinetdiminutive of clarino
- EnglishtodayclarinetWiktionary, English clarinet
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‘to call, shout’
low, hell, claim, classic, calendar, haul, reconciliation, reconcile, proclamation, classify, reclamation, squeal, exclamation, irreconcilable, clamour, clamor, ecclesiastic, ecclesial, clas, conciliar, 39 more
through Latin clarus ‘clear, bright’
Today it means
noun A woodwind musical instrument that has a distinctive liquid tone whose characteristics vary among its three registers: chalumeau (low), clarion (medium), and altissimo (high).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “clarinet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin clarus, Italian clarino. 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- / clarinet