Etymograph

English

cloison

Cloison comes from French cloison ‘partition, partition wall’, from Latin clausus ‘closed, inaccessible’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-1‘to close something’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudō1‘to close’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudō1‘to shut, close’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclausus2‘closed, inaccessible’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*clausiōnem2reconstructed
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcloison3‘partition, partition wall’
  7. Englishtodaycloison3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin clausus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French cloison
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English cloison

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleh₂w-Wiktionary, Latin clausus‘to close something’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*klaudōWiktionary, Latin clausus‘to close’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaudōWiktionary, Latin clausus‘to shut, close’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEclaususWiktionary, French cloison‘closed, inaccessible’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*clausiōnemWiktionary, French cloisonreconstructed
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcloisonWiktionary, English cloison‘partition, partition wall’
  7. EnglishtodaycloisonWiktionary, English cloison

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- ‘to close something’

include, cataract, conclave, subclavian, 27 more

through Proto-Italic *klaudō ‘to close’

inclusiveness, 25 more

through Latin claudō ‘to shut, close’

exclusive, conclusion, inclusive, closure, closet, inclusion, exclude, conclude, disclose, preclude, recluse, sluice, claustrophobia, occlusion, enclose, 27 more

through Latin clausus ‘closed, inaccessible’

close, clause, cloture, 5 more

Today it means

noun A partition, dividing fillet or band.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cloison”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin clausus, French cloison. 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 *kleh₂w- / cloison

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