Etymograph

English

click

Origin unknown. Click is imitative of the sound, first recorded in the 1500s. See Wiktionary.

first attested Imitative of the "click" sound; first recorded in the 1500s (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

Imitative of the "click" sound; first recorded in the 1500s.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Another origin of click

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400clique‘latch’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clike
  3. Englishtodayclick

Another origin of click

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150*clēċanuncertain
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cleken
  3. Englishtodayclick

Today it means

noun A brief, sharp, not particularly loud, relatively high-pitched sound produced by the impact of something small and hard against something hard, such as by the operation of a switch, a lock, or a latch.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “click”. 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 / click