Etymograph

English

cledonism

Cledonism comes from Ancient Greek κληδών ‘an omen’, from κλέος ‘fame, glory’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-1‘to hear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱléwos1‘fame’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kléwos2‘fame’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλέος3kléos‘fame, glory’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκληδών4klēdṓn‘an omen’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1885cledonism4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kléwos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κλέος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κληδών
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English cledonism
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, The Journal of Philology: “And indeed cledonism, or the putting of a prophetic…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱlew-Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kléwos‘to hear’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱléwosWiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kléwos‘fame’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kléwosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κλέος‘fame’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλέοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek κληδώνkléos‘fame, glory’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκληδώνWiktionary, English cledonismklēdṓn‘an omen’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1885cledonismWiktionary, English cledonism. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, The Journal of Philology: “And indeed cledonism, or the putting of a prophetic…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- ‘to hear’

listen, loud, client, scout, linn, lithe, shruti, leer, umlaut, 12 more

Today it means

noun Divination through the interpretation of words (written or spoken) encountered by chance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cledonism”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Hellenic *kléwos, Ancient Greek κλέος, Ancient Greek κληδών. 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 *ḱlew- / cledonism

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