English
clod
Clod comes from Middle English clod ‘a clod’, from Proto-West Germanic *klott ‘mass, ball, clump’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gel-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-1‘to ball up’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kluttaz1reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klott2‘mass, ball, clump’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150clot2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clod2‘a clod’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610clod2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klott
- 2 Wiktionary, English clod
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, Giles Fletcher: “Clodded in lumps of clay.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gel-Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klott‘to ball up’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kluttazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *klottreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*klottWiktionary, English clod‘mass, ball, clump’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150clotWiktionary, English clod
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500clodWiktionary, English clod‘a clod’
- Englishearliest quotation 1610clodWiktionary, English clod. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, Giles Fletcher: “Clodded in lumps of clay.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gel- ‘to ball up’
children, child, cold, clean, chill, globe, gel, cloud, jelly, cluster, colt, gelatin, gelato, glebe, ganglion, clout, clough, globus, globulin, 48 more
through Proto-West Germanic *klott ‘mass, ball, clump’
Today it means
noun A lump of something, especially earth or clay.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “clod”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-West Germanic *klott. 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 *gel- / clod