Etymograph

English

clitellum

Clitellum comes from New Latin clitellum, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱléy-treh₂ ‘shelter, covering’, and ultimately from *ḱley-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-1‘to shelter, cover’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱléy-treh₂1‘shelter, covering’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kleitrelā1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclitellae2as clītella
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900clitellum2
  6. Englishtodayclitellum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin clitellae
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English clitellum

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱley-Wiktionary, Latin clitellae‘to shelter, cover’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱléy-treh₂Wiktionary, Latin clitellae‘shelter, covering’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kleitrelāWiktionary, Latin clitellaereconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclitellaeWiktionary, English clitellumas clītella
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900clitellumWiktionary, English clitellum
  6. EnglishtodayclitellumWiktionary, English clitellum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- ‘to shelter, cover’

law, low, climate, lean, decline, ladder, lid, climax, inclination, incline, clinician, eyelid, cline, declension, declination, proclivity, 25 more

Today it means

noun A glandular swelling in the epidermis of some annelid worms; it secretes a viscous fluid in which the eggs are deposited.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “clitellum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin clitellae. 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 *ḱley- / clitellum

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