Etymograph

English

cloak

Cloak comes from Middle English cloke ‘cloak, cape’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Celtic *klokkos ‘bell’.

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*klokkos1‘bell’uncertain
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500clocca1‘travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape’
  3. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400cloque1‘travelling cloak’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cloke1‘cloak, cape’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611cloak1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English cloak
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “For neither at any time vſed wee flattering wordes,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*klokkosWiktionary, English cloak‘bell’uncertain
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cloccaWiktionary, English cloak‘travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape’
  3. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400cloqueWiktionary, English cloak‘travelling cloak’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clokeWiktionary, English cloak‘cloak, cape’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611cloakWiktionary, English cloak. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “For neither at any time vſed wee flattering wordes,…”

The story

From Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (‘travelling cloak’), from Medieval Latin clocca (“travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos, ultimately imitative.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Medieval Latin clocca ‘travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called…’

clock, cloche, 1 more

Today it means

noun A long outer garment worn over the shoulders covering the back; a cape, often with a hood.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cloak”. 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-Celtic *klokkos / cloak

Shirt and support for this word